II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3231 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to require law enforcement officials 

to obtain a warrant before accessing data stored in cars, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Ms. LUMMIS) 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 require law enforcement officials to obtain a warrant before accessing 

data stored in cars, 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 ‘‘Closing the 

5 Warrantless Digital Car Search Loophole Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VEHICLE DATA. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 124—ACCESSING VEHICLE 

2 DATA. 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘2730. Definitions. 

‘‘2731. Prohibition on access to vehicle data. 

‘‘2732. Prohibition on use of acquired information as evidence. 

3 ‘‘§ 2730. Definitions 

4 ‘‘In this chapter: 

5 ‘‘(1) ACCESS.—The term ‘access’— 

6 ‘‘(A) means any retrieval of covered vehicle 

7 data, regardless of— 

8 ‘‘(i) whether the data is obtained as 

9 the information is being produced or from 

10 digital storage; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) where the vehicle data is stored 

12 or transmitted, including by wire or radio; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) does not include data covered by 

15 chapter 119 of this title or section 104 of the 

16 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 

17 (50 U.S.C. 1804). 

18 ‘‘(2) CONSENT.—The term ‘consent’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means an affirmative, express, and 

20 voluntary agreement that— 

21 ‘‘(i) states that the person providing 

22 the consent is providing consent to a gov23 ernment official to access the digital conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Nov 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3231.IS S3231

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1 tents, access credential, or online account 

2 information, or other information being 

3 sought; 

4 ‘‘(ii) specifies the type of content, ac5 cess credential, or online account informa6 tion the person is providing access to; 

7 ‘‘(iii) specifies the time period of the 

8 covered vehicle data to be accessed; 

9 ‘‘(iv) informs the person providing 

10 consent that consent is optional and that 

11 the government official attempting to ob12 tain consent must otherwise acquire a war13 rant if consent is not obtained; 

14 ‘‘(v) does not involve sanctions or the 

15 threat of sanctions for withholding consent; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(vi) uses clear, simple, and com18 prehensible language that is presented in a 

19 way that is accessible to the person pro20 viding consent; and 

21 ‘‘(B) does not include consent obtained 

22 through agreement to a generic privacy policy. 

23 ‘‘(3) COVERED VEHICLE DATA.—The term ‘cov24 ered vehicle data’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means all onboard and telematics 

2 data generated by, processed by, or stored on a 

3 noncommercial vehicle using computing, storage 

4 and communication systems installed, attached 

5 to, or carried in the vehicle, including diagnostic 

6 data, entertainment system data, navigation 

7 data, images or data captured by onboard sen8 sors, or cameras, including images or data used 

9 to support automated features or autonomous 

10 driving, internet access, and communication to 

11 and from vehicle occupants; 

12 ‘‘(B) includes data gathered by event data 

13 recorders; and 

14 ‘‘(C) does not include— 

15 ‘‘(i) automotive software installed by 

16 the manufacturer, as defined by applicable 

17 industry standards or regulations; 

18 ‘‘(ii) any data subject to chapter 119 

19 of this title or section 104 of the Foreign 

20 Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 

21 U.S.C. 1804); or 

22 ‘‘(iii) data that is collected from out23 side the vehicle, including speed data and 

24 geolocation data, for purposes of traffic, 

25 law enforcement, or toll collection. 


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1 ‘‘(4) EVENT DATA RECORDER.—The term 

2 ‘event data recorder’ has the meaning given the term 

3 in section 563.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula4 tions (as in effect on March 5, 2019). 

5 ‘‘(5) INVESTIGATIVE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT

6 OFFICER.—The term ‘investigative or law enforce7 ment officer’ means any officer of the United States 

8 or of a State or political subdivision thereof and any 

9 Tribal justice official, who is empowered by law to 

10 execute searches, to seize evidence, or to make ar11 rests for a violation of Federal or State law. 

12 ‘‘(6) NONCOMMERCIAL VEHICLE.—The term 

13 ‘noncommercial vehicle’ has the meaning given the 

14 term ‘non-CMV’ in section 383.5 of title 49, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations. 

16 ‘‘(7) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

17 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

18 and any territory or possession of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(8) VEHICLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘vehicle 

20 operator’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a person who controls the operation 

22 of a vehicle at the time consent is sought; and 

23 ‘‘(B) with respect to a vehicle that is not 

24 classified as a highly autonomous vehicle by the 


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1 Secretary of Transportation, the driver of the 

2 vehicle. 

3 ‘‘§ 2731. Prohibition on access to vehicle data 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

5 (b), an investigative or law enforcement officer may not 

6 access covered vehicle data unless pursuant to a warrant 

7 issued in accordance with the procedures described in rule 

8 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the 

9 case of a State court, issued using State warrant proce10 dures) by a court of competent jurisdiction, or as other11 wise provided in this chapter or sections 104 and 303 of 

12 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 

13 U.S.C. 1804, 1823). 

14 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) CONSENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An investigative or 

17 law enforcement officer may access covered ve18 hicle data if— 

19 ‘‘(i) the vehicle operator provides prior 

20 consent to such access; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) no passenger 14 years of age or 

22 older objects to the access. 

23 ‘‘(B) VEHICLE OWNER.—If the vehicle op24 erator cannot be located with reasonable effort, 

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1 hicle, the lessee, may provide consent under this 

2 paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(C) UNLAWFUL POSSESSION.—No indi4 vidual may provide or withhold consent under 

5 this paragraph or object to another individual 

6 accessing covered vehicle data if the indi7 vidual— 

8 ‘‘(i) is the vehicle operator who is in 

9 unlawful possession of the vehicle; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) is a passenger who unlawfully 

11 obtained access to the vehicle. 

12 ‘‘(D) ORAL CONSENT.—Consent provided 

13 under this paragraph shall be in writing un14 less— 

15 ‘‘(i) the person providing the consent 

16 requests that the consent be made orally; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the request for consent and the 

19 consent are recorded. 

20 ‘‘(E) CONSENT OF VEHICLE OPERATOR.— 

21 If the vehicle operator is not the owner of the 

22 vehicle and provides consent under this para23 graph, the consent is valid only with respect to 

24 covered vehicle data generated during the lawful 


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1 possession and use of the vehicle by the vehicle 

2 operator. 

3 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An investigative or 

5 law enforcement officer, the Attorney General, 

6 the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate At7 torney General, or the principal prosecuting at8 torney of any State or subdivision thereof act9 ing pursuant to a statute of that State, may ac10 cess covered vehicle data if— 

11 ‘‘(i) such officer reasonably deter12 mines that an emergency situation exists 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(I) involves immediate danger of 

15 death or serious physical injury to any 

16 person; and 

17 ‘‘(II) requires access to covered 

18 vehicle data before such officer can, 

19 with due diligence, obtain a warrant; 

20 ‘‘(ii) there are grounds upon which a 

21 warrant could be granted to authorize such 

22 access; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) an application for a warrant ap24 proving such access is submitted to a court 


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1 within 48 hours after the access has oc2 curred or begins to occur. 

3 ‘‘(B) DENIAL.—If an application for a 

4 warrant submitted pursuant to subparagraph 

5 (A)(iii) is denied, any covered vehicle data 

6 accessed under this paragraph shall be treated 

7 as having been obtained in violation of this 

8 chapter. 

9 ‘‘(3) EVENT DATA RECORDER FOR MOTOR VE10 HICLE SAFETY.—In addition to the exceptions in 

11 paragraphs (1) and (2), data recorded or trans12 mitted by an event data recorder may be accessed 

13 from a noncommercial vehicle if authorized by para14 graph (3), (4), or (5) of section 24302(b) of the 

15 Driver Privacy Act of 2015 (49 U.S.C. 30101 note). 

16 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

17 this section shall be interpreted to require the trans18 mission or storage of data that is not otherwise 

19 transmitted or stored, or the retrieval of data that 

20 is not generally retrievable. 

21 ‘‘§ 2732. Prohibition on use of acquired information 

22 as evidence 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If any covered vehicle data has 

24 been acquired in violation of this chapter, no part of such 

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1 ceived in evidence in any trial, hearing, or other pro2 ceeding in or before any court, grand jury, department, 

3 officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative committee, or 

4 other authority of the United States, a State, or a political 

5 subdivision thereof. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROBABLE CAUSE.—No data described in sec7 tion 2731(b)(3) may be used to establish probable cause.’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (1) DRIVER PRIVACY ACT OF 2015.—Section 

10 24302 of the Driver Privacy Act of 2015 (49 U.S.C. 

11 30101 note) is amended— 

12 (A) in subsection (b), in the matter pre13 ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Data’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (c), 

15 data’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATIVE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI18 CERS.—An investigative or law enforcement officer may 

19 only access or retrieve data recorded or transmitted by an 

20 event data recorder described in subsection (a) in accord21 ance with chapter 124 of title 18, United States Code.’’. 

22 (2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap23 ters for part 1 of title 18, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘124. Accessing vehicle data ......................................................... 2730’’. 

Æ 


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