Sponsors (2)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Last progress June 5, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 5, 2025 by Margaret Wood Hassan
Makes it a federal crime to deliver, distribute, or help distribute controlled substances using the dark web, increases sentencing guidelines, creates a new FBI-led Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Task Force, and requires a one-year report on how virtual currencies are used to buy and sell opioids on dark web marketplaces. The task force will coordinate investigations, forensics, training, information sharing, and international cooperation, is funded from amounts otherwise available to the Attorney General, and sunsets after five years.
The dark web is made up of websites and network services that use overlay networks and special software to provide anonymity; these overlay networks route encrypted traffic through multiple relays so no single relay knows both the original source and final destination.
Dark web marketplaces are e-commerce sites on the dark web where individuals use virtual currencies to buy and sell drugs, weapons, malware, counterfeit currency, stolen credit cards, personal identifying information, forged documents, unlicensed pharmaceuticals, and other illicit goods.
Because of the anonymity the dark web provides, illicit activities can be hosted from anywhere in the world without being accountable to the Federal Government, Federal laws, or any other government or system of laws.
The use of the dark web to distribute illegal drugs has contributed to and continues to contribute to the substance abuse crisis affecting communities across the United States, in part because illicit goods are more obtainable anonymously.
Law enforcement at Federal, State, Tribal, local, and international levels continues to investigate drug trafficking and sale of illegal goods and services that result from interactions on the dark web, including activities within the United States and at the international border.
Who is affected and how:
Federal law enforcement and agencies: The FBI gains a new dedicated task force and coordination role; DOJ, Treasury, DHS and other named agencies will commit personnel and share investigative resources. Agencies will need to allocate staff, forensic capacity, and training resources; the task force requires annual reporting and has a five-year lifespan.
Prosecutors, federal courts, and defense counsel: New criminal liability for dark web distribution will lead to additional prosecutions under federal drug laws. The Sentencing Commission's two-level guideline increase will likely raise recommended sentences for covered convictions, affecting charging, plea bargaining, and sentencing outcomes.
Dark web marketplace operators and users selling/transporting controlled substances: Individuals and groups running or using darknet markets for drugs face increased criminal exposure and stiffer guideline ranges if convicted. This may deter some activity but could push operators to adopt stronger anonymization techniques or alternate channels.
Financial sector and virtual-currency ecosystem: Cryptocurrency exchanges, mixing/tumbling services, and other virtual asset service providers may face increased scrutiny as the mandated report assesses how virtual currencies are used in opioid trades. The report could lead to regulatory or enforcement changes affecting compliance burdens on these firms.
Civil liberties and privacy stakeholders: Expanded enforcement and investigative activity focused on darknet activity and virtual-currency flows could raise concerns among privacy, digital-rights, and defense communities about surveillance, investigatory techniques, and due-process protections.
Tribal entities and other defined groups: Inclusion of defined terms (e.g., Indian tribe) clarifies statutory language but does not on its face create new benefits or direct obligations for tribal governments beyond general applicability of federal criminal law.
Fiscal and program effects: Funding is directed from "amounts otherwise available" to the Attorney General rather than an explicit new appropriation, suggesting reallocation of DOJ resources rather than a guaranteed new funding line; agencies must absorb or reprogram funds to support the task force and reporting obligations.
Overall effect: The bill strengthens criminal tools and interagency coordination against darknet drug markets and targets virtual-currency-facilitated opioid transactions, likely increasing federal enforcement activity and sentences for offenders while prompting scrutiny of privacy and resource allocation implications.
Updated 1 week ago
Last progress November 18, 2025 (2 months ago)