Thorn_Justification_for_FBO.pdf

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN

COMPETITION

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION IN ACCORDANCE WITH

41 U.S.C.253(c)(1) as implemented by FAR Subpart 6.302-1

Requisition Number: DJF-20-0600-PR-0000020

DJF-20-0600-PR-0000021

Date: 13 July 2020 Estimated Contract Dollar Value:

1. Identification of the agency and contracting activity.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), has prepared this justification for other than full and open competition for access and ingest of data along with required maintenance from a non-profit organization into an existing FBI system, on behalf of the Child Exploitation Operational Unit (CEOU), Violent Crime Section

(VCS).

2. The nature and/or description of the action being approved, i.e., sole source, limited competition, establishment of a new source, etc.

cm is requesting a sole source contract with Thorn, expanding the current Memorandum of Understanding, for the establishment of a secure method for transfer of data between the Spotlight system operated by Thorn and systems operated by the FBI. This requirement also includes unlimited access and import of data relevant to ongoing investigations into FBI systems as well as for maintenance of the established interface components. The estimated period of performance will be 12 months from date of award followed by four 12-month option years.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs.

This is a requirement for extended access and use of data collected by Thorn and accessed via their website, development of an interface for transmission of data, creating copies of and temporary hosting of all data of interest relative to this requirement in a cloud environment, and maintenance to include upgrades, updates, patches and fixes that may be required for the stored data and this interface.

Requisition Number: DJF-20-0600-PR-0000020 D1F-20-0600-P R-0000021

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Data Selection: Thorn will provide extended access and use of data collected by their Spotlight system which takes large volumes of sexual advertisements from numerous websites and creates virtual links between the ads, user names, locations, and other commonalities.

Spotlight can do in moments what an investigator might take days to weeks or months to perform. Unlike FBI collected data, Thorn is under no obligation to "scrub" the data they collect or the connections made on that data.

Development of tbe Data Transfer Interface: In addition to extended access and use of data stored within the Spotlight database, the FBI has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for Thorn to create an interface for data to be transferred and temporarily stored in a secure cloud environment where the FBI will then export the data into the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS).

Security: The Data Transfer Interface will be designed such that data transfers are secured using commercially reasonable authentication and security mechanisms and practices while minimizing security risks to either system. All development and testing will be performed outside of FBI space and systems with the final product being integrated into the FBI system, by FBI statT following all established security processes and protocols.

Maintenance: Thorn will provide maintenance support as required for the data and transmission interface to include updates, upgrades, patches and fixes that may be required in the base and all exercised option years.

4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C.2S3(c)(1) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.302-1 entitled "Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. "

5. Demonstrate the unique qualifications of the proposed contractor or the nature of the action requiring the use of the authority.

Thorn is an international, Non-Profit, anti-human trafficking organization with work that focuses on addressing the sexual exploitation of children. The primary programming efforts of the organization focus on Internet technology -and the role it plays in facilitating child pornography and sexual slavery of children on a global scale. Thorn has focused work broadly on combating child sex trafficking and the data that they compile has increasingly played a role in combating sexual exploitation of children. Technology has played an increasing role in these crimes and the sexual exploitation of children, Thorn is driving technology to face these criminals head on.

Thorn has developed an online controlled access service in which they scour numerous sites where advertisements are published for or "hint" at sexual activities for sale, which frequently involve children, run-aways and persons that have been human trafficked. Thorn's system, "Spotlight", takes large volumes of sexual advertisements from numerous websites

Requisition Number: DJF-20-0600-PR-0000020

DJF-20-0600-PR-0000021

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Spotlight can do in moments what an investigator might take days to weeks or months to perform. Unlike FBI collected data, Thorn is under no obligation to "scrub" the data they collect or the connections made on that data. Subsequently if a child sex trafficker removes information from the web, the FBI may never know it was there- we are limited by what is in front of us at that moment, however Thorns ability to capture, connect and retain this information indefinitely means that by having access to their data, law enforcement users can search and use the data as case work dictates. Additionally, no legal warrants are required of the FBI to access the Thorn data as the information is publically available, which in turn allows for more expedited investigations.

In addition to extended access and use of data stored within the Spotlight database, the FBI has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding for Thorn to create an interface for data to be transferred and stored in a secure cloud environment where the FBI will then export the data into the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS). Currently when the FBI accesses data from Spotlight, it is a manual process to print copies, make notes, and write information down to add to the case files and perform searches in other law enforcement only data bases, which is a labor intensive and time-consuming process. This interface and subsequent transfer by FBI staff into the CETS will greatly improve efficiency.

No similar system or contract for this data interface currently exists. Though Thorn does provide services to other government agencies, the extended access to data, hosting of data and the subsequent transfer via a secure interfaces to a Law Enforcement Agency is not standard operating procedures and are exclusive to this FBI requirement.

Thorn has been an established organization involved in the investigation and evaluation of human trafficking, with a focus on child sex trafficking, since 2012. This provides them with more years of compiled data compared any other known competitor. Since incriminating information is removed from the web regularly, the centralized collection of and retention of data in real time of exploitive advertisements ensures that users like the FBI have access to both current and historical trafficking attempts.

Thorn is the only source for their collected data, has the largest collection of relevant documents and does not charge for user access. The FBI and Thorn are parties to a Memorandum of Understanding developed in 2017, which gave FBI access to a Thorn developed online service to mitigate the commercial sex trafficking of children. This Purchase Order is for additional data-sharing capabilities through which FBI users may import certain data records in order to facilitate FBI investigative efforts. No similar system or contract for this data interface currently exists.

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6. A desuiption of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Subpart 5.2 and, if not, which exception under 5.202 applies.

FAR 5.202 The contracting officer need not submit the notice required by 5.201 when-

(a) The contracting officer determines that-

(l) The synopsis cannot be worded to preclude disclosure of an agency's needs and such disclosure would compromise the national security (e.g., would result in disclosure of classified information). The fact that a proposed solicitation or contract action contains classified information, or that access to classified matter may be necessary to submit a proposal or perform the contract does not, in itself, justify use of this exception to synopsis;

Thorn and FBI entered into a MOV on October 29,2014 which set the terms and conditions for the use of the Thorn provided online service (Spotlight). This agreement was recently amended to allow FBI use of additional functionalities being provided by Spotlight with terms for non-disclosure of their level of cooperation.

7. The anticipated dollar value of the proposed acquisition, including options if applicable, and a determination by the Contracting Officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The cost for extended data access, interface infrastructure, cloud hosting and required maintenance services to be operated by Thorn over a five-year period is The contracting officer shall leverage the Independent Government Cost Estimate and historical pricing data for Thorn to detennine the fair and reasonable cost evaluation.

8. A description of the market research conducted and the results.

The FBI has conducted online research and attended conferences to see which companies were specifically building technology to combat child sexual exploitation online. The only company noted as somewhat comparable to Thorn is Marinus Analytics. Both companies focus on online sex trafficking and data aggregation and presentation to law enforcement and others involved in these types of criminal investigations. No company was found to have the extensive collection of data as Thorn nor did any other company have data that spanned a longer range of dates. Thorn does not share the historical data that they have received from web sites with competitors.

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Thorn was identified as the only company that does not charge an individual cost to the end users. There is no charge to any of the over 8,300 law enforcement users. Thorn primarily focuses on the child sex trafficking, along with other efforts focused on child sexual exploitation material, although the data collected and presented can be utilized for human trafficking in general.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

This requirement expands upon services already being provided thru the MOD between Thorn and FBI. The MOD includes confidentiality language limiting the disclosure of the service provided by Thorn as well as the functionalities being requested through the resulting contract of the subject requisitions. Publicizing the use of Spotlight or its functionalities would violate the terms of the MOU jeopardizing the access to the online data tool currently being utilized by CEOU, and jeopardize ongoing investigations

10. A listing of any sources that expressed a written interest in the acquisition.

No additional interest has been shown or solicited by other potential providers for this requirement as it expands upon services already being provided by Thorn.

11. A statement of any actions the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition, if subsequent acquisitions are anticipated.

The customer and Contracting Officer will continue to monitor the market to determine whether there may be other sources for which the total cost of competing and implementing this requirement is in best interests of the Government.

Requisition Number: DJF-20-0600-PR-0000020

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