The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning quickly voted to advance to the Senate floor a bill proposed by its Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), that would narrow the types of surveillance and requests for information that law enforcement could conduct over user’s electronic communications, and would require warrants for accessing all types — not just communications six months or older as is the current rule, as Leahy’s official Twitter account announced. Now the bill must be voted on by the full Senate to pass, and combined with a House version and be signed by the president before becoming law. There’s no timetable been set for those requirements, yet, and POLITICO reported that it is unlikely to pass Congress.
The bill would amend the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to clarify that companies shouldn’t voluntarily disclose user information to the government, and that they have to inform users when their information has been requested by and given to law enforcement or government agencies. It does contain, however, an exception whereby agencies can seek a court exemption to block companies from informing affected users for up to 90 days at a time (though this too, can further be extended another 90 days ad infinitum).
The bill sparked controversy on November 20 when CNET reported that Leahy and other backers bowed to law enforcement agencies and revised it to include broader exemptions allowing electronic surveillance without a warrant or subpoena, but Leahy denied that this was ever up for consideration.
(H/T: Alex Howard, O’Reilly Radar)
