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S. 2986

International Communications Privacy Act

International Communications Privacy Act

This bill amends the federal criminal code by allowing a governmental entity to require providers of electronic communication services or remote computing services to disclose the contents of communications in electronic storage (e.g., the cloud), regardless of where those communications are located. Thus, a governmental entity may obtain a warrant for electronic communications stored outside of the United States if certain conditions for obtaining the warrant are met.

The bill allows a governmental entity to obtain those communications only if a court finds that the governmental entity has taken all reasonable steps to establish the nationality and location of the subscriber or customer whose communications are sought and that there are reasonable grounds to believe that such subscriber or customer is a U.S. person, a person physically located within the United States, or a national of a foreign country that has a law enforcement cooperation agreement with the United States.

The Department of Justice must: (1) establish a process for foreign governments to file mutual legal assistance treaty requests for obtaining access to electronic communications, and (2) publish annually information concerning those requests.


Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT](R-UT)Sponsor
2 cosponsors1 D1 R
2cosponsors1committees2actions1related bills11subjects
  1. IntroReferral

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    Judiciary Committee
  2. IntroReferral10000

    Introduced in Senate

International Communications Privacy Act — Informed