II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1671 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to safeguard data stored abroad, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2017 

Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. COONS, and Mr. HELLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to safeguard data 

stored abroad, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Commu5 nications Privacy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF 

7 PURPOSE. 

8 Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) The Electronic Communications Privacy Act 

10 of 1986 (Public Law 99–508; 100 Stat. 1848) (reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Aug 08, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1671.IS S1671

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1 ferred to in this section as ‘‘ECPA’’) was intended 

2 to protect the privacy of electronic communications 

3 and related records stored with providers of elec4 tronic communications services and remote com5 puting services, while providing law enforcement 

6 agencies with the appropriate legal tools to compel 

7 production of information from such providers. 

8 (2) ECPA authorized governmental entities to 

9 obtain certain categories of communications data 

10 from providers using established, pre-existing forms 

11 of process, including search warrants and subpoenas. 

12 It also created a new form of court order, in section 

13 2703(d) of title 18, United States Code, that govern14 mental entities could use to obtain additional types 

15 of communications data. 

16 (3) Congress recognizes that there are often 

17 many interests that must be recognized when law 

18 enforcement agencies seek information from pro19 viders, such as— 

20 (A) the legitimate needs of law enforce21 ment agencies in the United States to obtain, 

22 through lawful process, electronic communica23 tions relevant to criminal investigations; 


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1 (B) the privacy interests of all customers 

2 of the services offered by electronic communica3 tion service providers; and 

4 (C) the legitimate interests of governments 

5 to protect the human rights, civil liberties and 

6 privacy of their nationals and residents. 

7 (4) Therefore, where the Government seeks to 

8 obtain the contents of electronic communications of 

9 a national of a qualifying foreign government who is 

10 located outside of the United States, this Act au11 thorizes the use of search warrants to compel pro12 duction of that information only if the foreign gov13 ernment receives prior notice of the request and does 

14 not object or a judge determines that the interests 

15 of the United States in obtaining the information 

16 outweigh the interests of the qualifying foreign gov17 ernment in preventing the disclosure. 

18 SEC. 3. EXTENSION AND CLARIFICATION OF WARRANT RE19 QUIREMENT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 18, United 

21 States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in section 2702(a), by amending paragraph 

23 (3) to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(3) a provider of remote computing service or 

25 electronic communication service to the public shall 


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1 not knowingly divulge to any governmental entity 

2 the contents of any communication described in sec3 tion 2703(a), or any record or other information 

4 pertaining to a subscriber or customer of such serv5 ice.’’; 

6 (2) in section 2703— 

7 (A) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.—A governmental enti10 ty may require the disclosure by a provider of electronic 

11 communication service or remote computing service of the 

12 contents of a wire or electronic communication that is 

13 stored, held, or maintained by the provider, regardless of 

14 where such contents may be in electronic storage or other15 wise stored, held, or maintained, only pursuant to a war16 rant issued using the procedures described in the Federal 

17 Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a State 

18 court, issued using State warrant procedures) by a court 

19 of competent jurisdiction.’’; 

20 (B) by redesignating subsections (c) 

21 through (g) as subsections (b) through (f), re22 spectively; 

23 (C) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, 

24 in the first sentence— 

25 (i) by striking ‘‘(b) or’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘the contents of a wire 

2 or electronic communication, or’’; and 

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘sought, are’’ and in4 serting ‘‘sought are’’; and 

5 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION FOR WARRANT SEEKING CON7 TENTS OF WIRE OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An application for a war9 rant under this section seeking the contents of a 

10 wire or electronic communication of a subscriber or 

11 customer of an electronic communication service pro12 vider or remote computing service provider that is 

13 stored, held, or maintained by such provider shall 

14 state the nationality and location of the subscriber 

15 or customer whose communications are being 

16 sought, unless the nationality and location cannot 

17 reasonably be determined. 

18 ‘‘(2) NATIONALITY AND LOCATION NOT REA19 SONABLY DETERMINED.—If the nationality and loca20 tion of the subscriber or customer cannot reasonably 

21 be determined, the application shall include a full 

22 and complete statement of the investigative steps 

23 taken to ascertain the nationality and location of the 

24 subscriber or customer. 

25 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of 

2 paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect 14 

3 days after the date on which the Attorney Gen4 eral first publishes a list of not less than 1 

5 qualifying foreign country under section 

6 2703A(e)(3). 

7 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements 

8 of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply dur9 ing any period of time in which no country is 

10 determined by the Attorney General to be a 

11 qualifying foreign country. 

12 ‘‘(4) JURISDICTION OVER OFFENSE.—A court 

13 may issue a warrant under this section for the con14 tents of a wire or electronic communication only if 

15 the warrant application was made— 

16 ‘‘(A) by a governmental entity in connec17 tion with an investigation of a criminal offense 

18 for which that entity has jurisdiction; or 

19 ‘‘(B) on behalf of a foreign government in20 vestigating a criminal offense for which that 

21 foreign government has jurisdiction. 

22 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO LEGAL

23 PROCESS.—Nothing in this section, section 2702, or sec24 tion 2703A shall be construed to limit the authority of 

25 a governmental entity to use an administrative subpoena 


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1 authorized under a Federal or State law or to use a Fed2 eral or State grand jury, trial, or civil discovery subpoena 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(1) require an originator, addressee, or in5 tended recipient of an electronic communication to 

6 disclose the contents of the electronic communication 

7 to the governmental entity; or 

8 ‘‘(2) require an entity that provides electronic 

9 communication services to the officers, directors, em10 ployees, or agents of the entity (for the purpose of 

11 carrying out their duties) to disclose the contents of 

12 an electronic communication to or from an officer, 

13 director, employee, or agent of the entity to a gov14 ernmental entity, if the electronic communication is 

15 held, stored, or maintained on an electronic commu16 nications system owned or operated by the entity.’’; 

17 (3) by inserting after section 2703 the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘§ 2703A. Special rule for communications of non20 United States subscriber or customer in 

21 qualifying foreign country 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT.— 

24 Except as provided in paragraph (2), if a subscriber 

25 or customer whose communications are being sought 


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1 is physically located outside the United States, is not 

2 a United States person, and is a national of or lo3 cated in a qualifying foreign country, the court may 

4 issue a warrant under section 2703 for the contents 

5 of such communications only if— 

6 ‘‘(A) the qualifying foreign country has 

7 been provided notice of the warrant application; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B)(i) the Central Authority of the quali10 fying foreign country has provided written cer11 tification that the disclosure may be had; 

12 ‘‘(ii) 14 days have passed since the date on 

13 which the notice was provided under subpara14 graph (A) and the Central Authority of the 

15 qualifying foreign country has not initiated a 

16 challenge under subsection (c)(1); or 

17 ‘‘(iii) the Central Authority of the quali18 fying foreign country has initiated a challenge 

19 under subsection (c)(1) and the court has de20 nied the challenge. 

21 ‘‘(2) NATIONALITY AND LOCATION NOT REA22 SONABLY DETERMINED.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

23 apply if— 

24 ‘‘(A) the nationality and location of the 

25 subscriber or customer whose communications 


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1 are being sought cannot reasonably be deter2 mined; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the requirements of section 

4 2703(g)(2) have been met. 

5 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice required 

6 under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall include— 

7 ‘‘(1) the name, nationality, and location of the 

8 subscriber or customer whose communications are 

9 being sought; 

10 ‘‘(2) the name, nationality, and location of the 

11 service provider; and 

12 ‘‘(3) a description of the events or offenses 

13 under investigation and how the communications 

14 sought are relevant and material to the investiga15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(c) CHALLENGE TO WARRANT SEEKING CONTENTS

17 OF WIRE OR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a motion made 

19 promptly by a service provider or by the Central Au20 thority of a qualifying foreign country, a court re21 ceiving a warrant application under section 2703 or 

22 issuing a warrant under section 2703 for the con23 tents of a wire or electronic communication of a sub24 scriber or customer who is physically located outside 

25 the United States and who is not a United States 


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1 person shall deny, modify, or quash the warrant, as 

2 appropriate, if the court finds that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the subscriber or customer is a na4 tional of or located in a qualifying foreign coun5 try and the qualifying foreign country was not 

6 provided notice of the warrant application in ac7 cordance with subsection (a)(1)(A), unless the 

8 court issued an order under subsection 

9 (d)(2)(A) waiving the requirements of sub10 section (a)(1); or 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) disclosure would cause the service 

12 provider to violate the laws of a foreign country; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(ii) based on the totality of the cir15 cumstances, the warrant should not be issued 

16 or enforced because the interests of the foreign 

17 country in preventing the disclosure and the 

18 penalties the service provider or any employees 

19 of the service provider would likely suffer as a 

20 result of violating the laws of the foreign coun21 try outweigh the investigative interests of the 

22 governmental entity seeking to compel the dis23 closure. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMITY ANALYSIS.—For purposes of mak2 ing a determination under paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the 

3 court shall take into account, as appropriate— 

4 ‘‘(A) the laws of the foreign country; 

5 ‘‘(B) the investigative interests of the gov6 ernmental entity seeking to compel the disclo7 sure; 

8 ‘‘(C) the interests of the foreign govern9 ment in preventing the disclosure; 

10 ‘‘(D) the reasons, if any, for the objection 

11 of the foreign government; 

12 ‘‘(E) the penalties the provider or any em13 ployees of the provider would likely suffer as a 

14 result of violating the laws of the foreign coun15 try; 

16 ‘‘(F) the location and nationality of the 

17 subscriber or customer whose communications 

18 are being sought; 

19 ‘‘(G) the location and nationality of the 

20 victims; 

21 ‘‘(H) the location of the offense; 

22 ‘‘(I) the seriousness of the offense; 

23 ‘‘(J) the importance of the sought-after 

24 data to the investigation; and 


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1 ‘‘(K) the possibility of timely accessing the 

2 data through other means. 

3 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS DURING PEND4 ENCY OF CHALLENGE.—A service provider shall not 

5 be obligated to produce the contents of the commu6 nications sought during the pendency of a challenge 

7 brought under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS TO 14-DAY NOTICE PERIOD.— 

9 ‘‘(1) EXPEDITED TREATMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A court may issue an 

11 order shortening the time period described in 

12 subsection (a)(1)(A) to a time period not less 

13 than 7 days, if the court finds, based on specific 

14 and articulable facts, that such expedited treat15 ment is necessary to avoid one or more of the 

16 adverse results identified in section 2705(a)(2). 

17 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—An order issued under 

18 subparagraph (A) shall be served upon a rep19 resentative of the Central Authority of the 

20 qualifying foreign country in a timely manner. 

21 ‘‘(2) DELAY OF NOTICE IN EXCEPTIONAL CIR22 CUMSTANCES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DELAY OF NOTICE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A court receiving 

25 an application for a warrant under section 


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1 2703 for the contents of a wire or elec2 tronic communication of a subscriber or 

3 customer who is physically located outside 

4 the United States, who is not a United 

5 States person, and who is a national of or 

6 located in a qualifying foreign country may 

7 issue an order waiving the requirements of 

8 subsection (a)(1) for 90 days, if the court 

9 finds, based on specific and articulable 

10 facts, that providing notice of the warrant 

11 application to the qualifying foreign coun12 try would— 

13 ‘‘(I) jeopardize national security; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(II) result in one or more of the 

16 adverse results identified in section 

17 2705(a)(2) because— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the potential criminal 

19 activity under investigation is 

20 sponsored or directed by the 

21 qualifying foreign country; or 

22 ‘‘(bb) there is reason to be23 lieve that, notwithstanding the 

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1 fying foreign country would no2 tify the subject of the investiga3 tion of the existence of the inves4 tigation, the existence of the war5 rant application, or both. 

6 ‘‘(ii) ISSUANCE OF WARRANT.—Upon 

7 a finding described in clause (i), and fol8 lowing issuance of an order under clause 

9 (i), the court may issue the warrant forth10 with. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF ORDER DELAYING

12 NOTICE.—An order waiving the requirements of 

13 subsection (a)(1) may be extended in 90-day in14 crements until the investigation is completed. 

15 Any extension of an order under this subpara16 graph shall be made only upon a finding by the 

17 court, based on specific and articulable facts, 

18 that providing notice to the qualifying foreign 

19 country would lead to one or more of the ad20 verse results identified in subparagraph 

21 (A)(i)(II). 

22 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF EXPIRATION OR NON23 RENEWAL.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon expiration 

25 or nonrenewal of an order issued under 


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1 subparagraph (A) the court shall suspend 

2 the warrant. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DURATION OF SUSPENSION.— 

4 The suspension of a warrant under clause 

5 (i) shall remain in effect until— 

6 ‘‘(I) the qualifying foreign coun7 try is provided notice of the warrant 

8 application; and 

9 ‘‘(II)(aa) the Central Authority 

10 of the qualifying foreign country pro11 vides written certification that the dis12 closure may be had; 

13 ‘‘(bb) the end of the 14-day pe14 riod beginning on the date on which 

15 the notice described in clause (i) was 

16 provided to the qualifying foreign 

17 country, if during the 14-day period 

18 the Central Authority of the quali19 fying foreign country does not initiate 

20 a challenge under subsection (c)(1); or 

21 ‘‘(cc) the Central Authority of 

22 the qualifying foreign country initiates 

23 a challenge under subsection (c)(1) 

24 and the court rules on the challenge. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) IMMEDIATE LIFT OF SUSPEN2 SION.—For purposes of clause (ii)(II)(cc), 

3 if the court denies the challenge, the court 

4 shall immediately lift the suspension. 

5 ‘‘(e) QUALIFYING FOREIGN COUNTRY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 

7 ‘qualifying foreign country’ means a foreign country 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) has certified to the Attorney General 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(i) it will provide to the United 

12 States Government substantive and proce13 dural opportunities similar to those under 

14 this section when the foreign country is 

15 seeking information about United States 

16 persons from electronic communications 

17 service providers or remote computing 

18 service providers subject to its jurisdiction; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the event it is provided notice 

21 of an application for a warrant under sub22 section (a)(1)(A), upon request from the 

23 United States Government it will not no24 tify the subject of the investigation of the 


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1 existence of the investigation, the existence 

2 of the warrant application, or both; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General, in consultation 

4 with the Secretary of State, has determined— 

5 ‘‘(i) affords robust substantive and 

6 procedural protections for privacy and civil 

7 liberties; 

8 ‘‘(ii) adheres to applicable inter9 national human rights obligations and 

10 commitments; 

11 ‘‘(iii) provides to the United States 

12 Government substantive and procedural 

13 opportunities similar to those under this 

14 section when the foreign country is seeking 

15 information about United States persons 

16 from electronic communication service pro17 viders or remote computing service pro18 viders subject to its jurisdiction; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) will not unnecessarily impede le20 gitimate criminal investigations or other21 wise undermine the foreign relations of the 

22 United States as a result of receiving no23 tice of warrant applications and the oppor24 tunity to initiate a challenge to such appli25 cations. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—Not later 

2 than 60 days after the date on which the Attorney 

3 General receives the certifications described in para4 graph (1)(A) from a foreign country, the Attorney 

5 General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

6 shall determine whether the country satisfies the re7 quirements described in paragraph (1)(B). If the At8 torney General determines a country satisfies the re9 quirements described in paragraph (1)(B), the At10 torney General shall add the country to the list of 

11 qualifying foreign countries under paragraph (3). 

12 ‘‘(3) LIST OF QUALIFYING FOREIGN COUN13 TRIES.—The Attorney General shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) publish and make publicly available a 

15 list of the countries that satisfy the require16 ments described in paragraph (1); 

17 ‘‘(B) add to the list published under sub18 paragraph (A) any country that comes into 

19 compliance with the requirements described in 

20 paragraph (1); and 

21 ‘‘(C) remove from the list published under 

22 subparagraph (A) any country that ceases to 

23 comply with the requirements described in para24 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO NA2 TIONAL SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS.— 

3 Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect, im4 pact, or in any way impede terrorism investigations, mili5 tary operations, or operations or activities under the For6 eign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 

7 1801 et seq.).’’; 

8 (4) in section 2704(a)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

9 2703(b)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2703’’; and 

10 (5) in section 2711— 

11 (A) in paragraph (3)(B) by striking ‘‘war12 rants; and’’ and inserting ‘‘warrants;’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘thereof.’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘thereof;’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(5) the term ‘United States person’ means a 

17 citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully ad18 mitted for permanent residence (as defined in sec19 tion 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))); 

21 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Central Authority’ means the 

22 agency, department, office, or authority of a country 

23 responsible for administering law enforcement re24 quests between that country and another country; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(7) the term ‘national of a foreign country’ 

2 means a citizen, a lawful resident, or an entity orga3 nized under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction.’’. 

4 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 Title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in section 2258A(h)(1), by striking ‘‘section 

7 2703(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2703(e)’’; 

8 (2) in section 2705— 

9 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘sec10 tion 2703(b)’’ each place the term appears and 

11 inserting ‘‘section 2703’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘section 

13 2703(b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2703’’; 

14 (3) in section 2707— 

15 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘section 

16 2703(e)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2703(d)’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘sec18 tion 2703(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2703(e)’’; 

19 and 

20 (4) in section 3486(a)(1)(C)(i), by striking 

21 ‘‘section 2703(c)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

22 2703(b)(2)’’. 

23 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

24 or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed 


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1 to expand the investigative authority of any governmental 

2 entity. 

3 (d) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

4 chapter 121 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

5 by inserting after the item relating to section 2703 the 

6 following: 

‘‘2703A. Special rule for communications of non-United States subscriber or 

customer in qualifying foreign country.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATY REFORMS. 

8 (a) MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATY TRANS9 PARENCY AND EFFICIENCY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

12 General shall establish— 

13 (A) a form for use by a foreign govern14 ment filing a mutual legal assistance treaty re15 quest (referred to in this section as an ‘‘MLAT 

16 request’’), which shall— 

17 (i) be made available on the website of 

18 the Department of Justice; and 

19 (ii) require sufficient information and 

20 be susceptible for use by a foreign govern21 ment to provide all the information nec22 essary for the MLAT request; 

23 (B) an online docketing system for all 

24 MLAT requests, which shall allow a foreign 


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1 government to track the status of an MLAT re2 quest filed by the foreign government; and 

3 (C) a process through which certified ap4 proval may be sought for disclosure pursuant to 

5 warrants issued under section 2703(a). 

6 (2) ANNUAL PUBLICATION.—Beginning not 

7 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, and each year thereafter, the Attorney General 

9 shall publish on the website of the Department of 

10 Justice statistics on— 

11 (A)(i) the number of MLAT requests made 

12 by the Department of Justice to foreign govern13 ments for the purpose of obtaining the contents 

14 of an electronic communication or other infor15 mation or records from a provider of electronic 

16 communications or remote computing services; 

17 and 

18 (ii) the average length of time taken by 

19 foreign governments to process the MLAT re20 quests described in clause (i); 

21 (B)(i) the number of MLAT requests made 

22 to the Department of Justice by foreign govern23 ments for the purpose of obtaining the contents 

24 of an electronic communication or other infor25 mation or records from a provider of electronic 


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1 communications or remote computing services; 

2 and 

3 (ii) the average length of time taken by 

4 foreign governments to process the MLAT re5 quests described in clause (i); and 

6 (C)(i) the number of MLAT requests made 

7 to the Department of Justice by foreign govern8 ments for the purpose of obtaining the contents 

9 of an electronic communication or other infor10 mation or records from a provider of electronic 

11 communications or remote computing services; 

12 and 

13 (ii) the average length of time taken by the 

14 Department of Justice to process the MLAT re15 quests described in clause (i). 

16 (3) NOTICE TO DEPARTMENT OF STATE.—The 

17 Attorney General shall notify the Secretary of State 

18 not later than 7 days after the date on which disclo19 sure of electronic communications content to a for20 eign government is made pursuant to an MLAT re21 quest. 

22 (b) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The Attorney 

23 General may issue a request pursuant to section 2703(e) 

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1 tion 3, upon receipt of an MLAT request that appears 

2 to be facially valid. 

3 (c) NOTIFICATION TO PROVIDER OF MLAT RE4 QUEST.—When the Attorney General makes use of the 

5 process provided in section 2703 of title 18, United States 

6 Code, to obtain information from an electronic commu7 nications provider or a remote computing provider based 

8 on an MLAT request, the Attorney General shall notify 

9 that provider in writing that the request has been made 

10 pursuant to a mutual legal assistance treaty. 

11 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that— 

13 (1) data localization requirements imposed by 

14 foreign governments on data providers are— 

15 (A) incompatible with the borderless na16 ture of the Internet; 

17 (B) an impediment to online innovation; 

18 and 

19 (C) unnecessary to meet the needs of law 

20 enforcement; and 

21 (2) the Department of Justice, the Department 

22 of State, and the United States Trade Representa23 tives should pursue open data flow policies with for24 eign nations. 

Æ 


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