Bill > S2986

This bill, titled the International Communications Privacy Act, aims to update existing laws, specifically the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), to better protect the privacy of electronic communications, especially when data is stored abroad, while still allowing law enforcement access when necessary. A key provision requires that U.S. law enforcement obtain a warrant to access the contents of electronic communications stored by service providers if the subscriber or customer is a U.S. person, physically located in the U.S., or located in a foreign country with which the U.S. has a Law Enforcement Cooperation Agreement (like a mutual legal assistance treaty, or MLAT) and that country does not object to the disclosure, or if the subscriber is in a country without such an agreement. The bill also introduces reforms to MLAT requests, requiring the Attorney General to establish a standardized form for foreign governments to submit requests, an online system for tracking these requests, and to publish statistics on MLAT processing times. Furthermore, it clarifies that certain existing legal processes, like administrative subpoenas, are not limited by these new warrant requirements. The bill also defines terms like "United States person" and "Law Enforcement Cooperation Agreement" and expresses a sense of Congress that foreign data localization requirements are detrimental to the internet and innovation.