Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy has released a revised version of his electronic privacy bill, which has been weakened significantly after criticism by the GOP and law enforcement. The Vermont Democrat's legislation, circulated last night, would still require law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant before viewing consumers' emails or data stored in the cloud; currently officials need only a subpoena. However, the revised provisions clarify that the law doesn't override existing federal surveillance laws that allow officials to access data without a warrant.
The new version of the bill also would double the amount of time officials have to notify individuals that their data was accessed, from 90 to 180 days. Companies that manage electronic data (such as Google) or the wireless companies would have to notify the government before disclosing to subscribers that authorities had accessed their data. Another new provision would add civil discovery subpoenas to the tools that officials can use to access electronic data, giving the government more access to information than it currently enjoys.
The Judiciary Committee is expected to take up the bill on Thursday, when it will more than likely be attached to the House-passed update (HR 2471) of the Video Privacy Protection Act designed to facilitate the sharing of video rental information on line. Leahy continues to maintain that he is working to better protect the privacy of U.S. consumers, but the changes are likely to draw vocal criticism from privacy and civil liberties advocates, who may view the legislation now as a step back rather than forward. But this latest turn was not unexpected; any effort to restrict the access law enforcement has to private data is sure to meet with resistance from that community, and likely the GOP as well. Only a firm position from the administration limiting warrantless searches would seem to have a significant impact, given the unlikelihood of Congress imposing restrictions via legislation.
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