H.R. 6104 — Dark Web Interdiction Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings regarding the dark web's facilitation of illegal activities—including drug trafficking, weapons sales, and other illicit goods—through anonymity features that hinder law enforcement, while noting successes such as Operation SpecTor (288 arrests; seizures of 850 kg of drugs including 64 kg of fentanyl, 117 firearms, and $53.4 million in cash and virtual currencies). It expresses the sense of Congress that the dark web poses a unique threat to public health and national security and that Congress should support law enforcement at all levels and enhance their investigative and prosecutorial tools.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act: (1) dark web (as given in new subsection (i) of section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 841, added by section 4); (2) Director (i.e., Director of the task force); (3) illicit marketplace (i.e., a dark web website on which individuals use virtual currency for transactions involving drugs, weapons, malware, counterfeit currency, stolen credit cards, personal identifying information, forged documents, or other illicit goods); (4) Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. 5304); (5) opioid (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 802); and (6) task force (i.e., the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Task Force established under section 5(a)(1)).

This section establishes a new offense under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) prohibiting any person from knowingly or intentionally delivering, distributing, or dispensing a controlled substance by means of the dark web—or aiding or abetting (per 18 U.S.C. 2) such activity—except as authorized by the CSA. It defines the dark web as a portion of the internet with hidden sites and services that are not indexed by search engines and are accessible only via specific anonymizing devices, software, routing, authorizations, or configurations that conceal user identities and locations. It directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to provide a 2-level increase above the otherwise applicable sentence for such violations.

This section establishes in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Task Force, headed by a Director appointed by the President with Senate advice and consent, to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit marketplaces on the dark web. The task force includes representatives from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Defense, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and Department of Justice; the Director may consult with state, tribal, local, or international entities as needed. To carry out its purpose, the task force must (1) conduct proactive and reactive investigations and forensic/cyberforensic examinations; (2) provide training and assistance to prosecutors and law enforcement; (3) develop best practices for evidence collection, logging, maintenance, and sharing related to dark web and virtual assets; (4) foster multijurisdictional partnerships, information sharing, and equipment recommendations; (5) create novel investigative approaches for emerging technologies; (6) enhance international collaboration; and (7) perform other necessary activities. The task force must also provide guidance and training to FBI personnel and other agencies on recognizing dark web evidence, collecting relevant data, information sharing procedures, and related topics. Not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the FBI Director must submit to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees a report summarizing task force activities, investigative methods and effectiveness, performance metrics (e.g., investigations conducted, marketplaces disrupted, arrests), partnerships, international coordination, legislative recommendations, and dark web financing methods.

This section directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security, to submit to Congress, not later than one year after enactment, a report on the use of virtual currencies in distributing opioids through dark web illicit marketplaces. The report must (1) summarize how such currencies finance those transactions and are exchanged (e.g., via peer-to-peer networks, money transmitters, or financial institutions); (2) provide the number of known instances; (3) identify the most common virtual currencies used; (4) assess investigative capacities, including assistance to financial institutions, access to records, training for law enforcement, and international coordination; and (5) recommend additional legislative actions to detect, disrupt, and dismantle such marketplaces.

This section expresses the sense of Congress that it should evaluate and, if necessary, update the definition of "dark web" in section 401(i) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(i))—as added by section 4 of this Act—not less frequently than once every five years.

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that the invalidation of any provision of the Act or its amendments, or their application to any person or circumstance, does not affect the remainder of the Act or its amendments or their application to other persons or circumstances.