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Title 34 — NavyRelease 119-73not60

§20505 Limitation on Liability

Title 34 › Subtitle Subtitle II— Protection of Children and Other Persons › Chapter 205— AMBER ALERT › § 20505

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and its staff usually cannot be sued for damaging someone's reputation when they run hotlines, clearinghouses, take complaints, or do work paid for by the federal government and done with federal law enforcement. That protection is lost if a person proves the Center acted with actual malice (intentionally to harm or with reckless disregard for the truth) or did something for a purpose not related to activities required by federal law. Preventing or detecting crime and protecting, recovering, or keeping missing or exploited children safe are always treated as activities required by federal law.

Full Legal Text

Title 34, §20505

Navy — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (b), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, including any of its officers, employees, or agents, shall not be liable for damages in any civil action for defamation, libel, slander, or harm to reputation arising out of any action or communication by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, its officers, employees, or agents, in connection with any clearinghouse, hotline or complaint intake or forwarding program or in connection with activity that is wholly or partially funded by the United States and undertaken in cooperation with, or at the direction of a Federal law enforcement agency.
(b)The limitation in subsection (a) does not apply in any action in which the plaintiff proves that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, its officers, employees, or agents acted with actual malice, or provided information or took action for a purpose unrelated to an activity mandated by Federal law. For purposes of this subsection, the prevention, or detection of crime, and the safety, recovery, or protection of missing or exploited children shall be deemed, per se, to be an activity mandated by Federal law.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 5791d of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

34 U.S.C. § 20505

Title 34 — Navy

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60