I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 983 

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to disclosures to governments by communications-related service providers of certain information 

consisting of or relating to communications, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2013 

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. POE of Texas, and Ms. DELBENE) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 

and in addition to the Select Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to 

disclosures to governments by communications-related 

service providers of certain information consisting of or 

relating to communications, 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 ‘‘Online Communica5 tions and Geolocation Protection Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. WARRANT REQUIRED FOR CONTENTS OF COMMU2 NICATIONS. 

3 (a) COMPELLED DISCLOSURE OF COMMUNICATION

4 CONTENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2703 of title 18, 

6 United States Code, is amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (a)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘IN ELECTRONIC

9 STORAGE’’ in the subsection header; 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or remote computing 

11 service’’ in the first sentence after ‘‘elec12 tronic communication service’’; 

13 (iii) by striking ‘‘that is in electronic 

14 storage in an electronic communications 

15 system for one hundred and eighty days or 

16 less,’’ and inserting ‘‘that is stored, held, 

17 or maintained by that service,’’; and 

18 (iv) by striking the final sentence and 

19 inserting ‘‘Within three days after a gov20 ernmental entity receives such contents 

21 from a service provider pursuant to this 

22 subsection, the governmental entity shall 

23 serve upon, or deliver by registered or 

24 first-class mail, or other means reasonably 

25 calculated to be effective as specified by 

26 the court issuing the warrant to the submstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 scriber, customer, or user a copy of the 

2 warrant and a notice that includes the in3 formation referenced in section 

4 2705(a)(4)(A) and (B)(i), except that de5 layed notice may be provided pursuant to 

6 section 2705 of this title.’’; and 

7 (B) by striking subsection (b). 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 2703(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘(b) or’’. 

11 (b) VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE OF COMMUNICATION

12 CONTENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2702(a)(3) of title 

14 18, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘to any governmental en16 tity the contents of communication covered by 

17 subsection (a) of section 2703 or any’’ after 

18 ‘‘divulge’’; 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘or user’’ after ‘‘cus20 tomer’’; and 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘(not including the con22 tents of communications covered by paragraph 

23 (1) or (2))’’. 

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2705 

25 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

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1 (A) in subsection (a)(1)— 

2 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik3 ing ‘‘2703(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘2703(a)’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘court order’’ each place it appears and in6 serting ‘‘warrant’’; 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

8 ‘‘2703(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘2703(a)’’; and 

9 (iv) by striking subparagraph (B); 

10 (B) by striking subsection (a)(3); 

11 (C) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘or by 

12 certification by a governmental entity, but only 

13 in accordance with subsection (b) of this sec14 tion.’’; 

15 (D) in subsection (a)(5)— 

16 (i) by inserting after ‘‘first-class 

17 mail,’’ the following: ‘‘or other means rea18 sonably calculated to be effective as speci19 fied by the court issuing the warrant’’; 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘the process or re21 quest’’ and replacing it with ‘‘warrant’’; 

22 and 

23 (iii) in subsection (5)(A)(iii), by strik24 ing ‘‘governmental entity or’’ and ‘‘certifi25 cation or’’; 

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1 (E) by striking subsection (a)(6); and 

2 (F) in subsection (b)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘when it is not re4 quired to notify the subscriber or customer 

5 under section 2703(b)(1), or’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘subpoena or court 

7 order’’ each place it appears. 

8 SEC. 3. GEOLOCATION INFORMATION PROTECTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part 1 of title 18, United 

11 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 

12 119 the following: 

13 ‘‘CHAPTER 120—GEOLOCATION 

14 INFORMATION 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘2601. Definitions. 

‘‘2602. Interception and disclosure of geolocation information. 

‘‘2603. Prohibition on disclosing geolocation information to governmental entities. 

‘‘2604. Prohibition of use of unlawfully obtained geolocation information as evidence. 

‘‘2605. Recovery of civil damages and administrative discipline authorized. 

15 ‘‘§ 2601. Definitions 

16 ‘‘In this chapter: 

17 ‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION SERVICE.— 

18 The term ‘electronic communication service’ has the 

19 meaning given that term in section 2510. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE.—The term 

21 ‘electronic surveillance’ has the meaning given that 

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1 term in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Sur2 veillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801). 

3 ‘‘(3) GEOLOCATION INFORMATION.—The term 

4 ‘geolocation information’ means, with respect to an 

5 individual, any information that is not the content of 

6 a communication, concerning the location of a wire7 less communication device or tracking device (as 

8 that term is defined section 3117) that, in whole or 

9 in part, is generated by or derived from the oper10 ation of that device and that could be used to deter11 mine or infer information regarding the present, 

12 prospective, or historical location of the individual. 

13 ‘‘(4) GEOLOCATION INFORMATION SERVICE.— 

14 The term ‘geolocation information service’ means a 

15 service that generates or uses geolocation informa16 tion for the provision of a mapping, locational, or di17 rectional information service to the public, or to such 

18 class of users as to be effectively available to the 

19 public, by or through the operation of any wireless 

20 communication device. 

21 ‘‘(5) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY.—The term ‘gov22 ernmental entity’ means any employee or agent of 

23 the United States, or any State or political subdivi24 sion thereof. 

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1 ‘‘(6) INTERCEPT.—The term ‘intercept’ means 

2 the acquisition of geolocation information through 

3 the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other de4 vice. 

5 ‘‘(7) 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, who is 

9 empowered by law to conduct investigations of, or to 

10 make arrests for, offenses enumerated in this chap11 ter, and any attorney authorized by law to prosecute 

12 or participate in the prosecution of such offenses. 

13 ‘‘(8) REMOTE COMPUTING SERVICE.—The term 

14 ‘remote computing service’ has the meaning given 

15 that term in section 2711. 

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

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

18 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory 

19 or possession of the United States. 

20 ‘‘(10) WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE.— 

21 The term ‘wireless communication device’ means any 

22 device that enables access to, or use of, an electronic 

23 communication system or service, remote computing 

24 service, or geolocation information service, if that de25 vice utilizes a radio signal or other wireless connecmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tion to access or use such system or service, includ2 ing any mobile telephone, global positioning system 

3 receiving device, mobile computer, or other similar 

4 or successor device. 

5 ‘‘(11) COVERED SERVICE.—The term ‘covered 

6 services’ means electronic communication service, re7 mote computing service, or geolocation information 

8 service. 

9 ‘‘§ 2602. Interception and disclosure of geolocation in10 formation 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

12 this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any governmental en13 tity to— 

14 ‘‘(1) intentionally intercept, endeavor to inter15 cept, or direct any person to intercept or endeavor 

16 to intercept, geolocation information pertaining to 

17 an individual; 

18 ‘‘(2) intentionally disclose, or endeavor to dis19 close, or direct any person to disclose or endeavor to 

20 disclose geolocation information pertaining to an in21 dividual, knowing or having reason to know that the 

22 information was obtained in violation of this sub23 section; or 

24 ‘‘(3) intentionally use, or endeavor to use, any 

25 geolocation information, knowing or having reason 

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1 to know that the information was obtained in viola2 tion of this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CONDUCTING FOREIGN INTEL4 LIGENCE SURVEILLANCE.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of this chapter, it shall not be unlawful for an 

6 officer, employee, or agent of the United States in the nor7 mal course of the official duty of the officer, employee, 

8 or agent to conduct electronic surveillance, as authorized 

9 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 

10 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CONSENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be unlawful 

13 under this chapter for a governmental entity to 

14 intercept, use, or disclose geolocation information 

15 pertaining to an individual if that individual has 

16 given prior consent to that governmental entity for 

17 such interception, use or disclosure. 

18 ‘‘(2) CHILDREN.—A parent or legal guardian of 

19 a child may consent on behalf of a child for the pur20 poses of paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION.—It 

22 shall not be unlawful under this chapter for a govern23 mental entity to intercept or access geolocation informa24 tion pertaining to an individual through any system that 

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1 is configured so that such information is readily accessible 

2 to the general public. 

3 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.—It 

4 shall not be unlawful under this chapter for any investiga5 tive or law enforcement officer or other emergency re6 sponder to intercept, access, use, or disclose geolocation 

7 information pertaining to an individual if such information 

8 is used— 

9 ‘‘(1) to respond to a request made by such indi10 vidual for assistance; or 

11 ‘‘(2) to assist the individual in circumstances in 

12 which it is reasonable to believe that the life or safe13 ty of the individual is in jeopardy. 

14 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR WARRANT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A governmental entity may 

16 intercept geolocation information or require the dis17 closure of geolocation information by a provider of 

18 covered services only pursuant to a warrant issued 

19 by a court of competent jurisdiction using the proce20 dures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal 

21 Procedure (or, in the case of a State court, issued 

22 using State warrant procedures), or as otherwise 

23 provided in this chapter or the Foreign Intelligence 

24 Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

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1 ‘‘(2) COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION.— 

2 For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘court 

3 of competent jurisdiction’ includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) any district court of the United 

5 States (including a magistrate judge of such a 

6 court) or any United States court of appeals 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(i) has jurisdiction over the offense 

9 being investigated; 

10 ‘‘(ii) is in or for a district in which the 

11 provider of a geolocation information serv12 ice is located or in which the geolocation 

13 information is stored; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) is acting on a request for foreign 

15 assistance pursuant to section 3512 of this 

16 title; or 

17 ‘‘(B) a court of general criminal jurisdic18 tion of a State authorized by the law of that 

19 State to issue search warrants. 

20 ‘‘(g) EMERGENCY SITUATION EXCEPTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of this chapter, any investigative or law en23 forcement officer, specially designated by the Attor24 ney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Asso25 ciate Attorney General, or by the principal prosmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ecuting attorney of any State or subdivision thereof 

2 acting pursuant to a statute of that State, may 

3 intercept or use geolocation information if— 

4 ‘‘(A) such officer reasonably determines 

5 that an emergency situation exists that— 

6 ‘‘(i) involves— 

7 ‘‘(I) immediate danger of death 

8 or serious physical injury to any indi9 vidual; 

10 ‘‘(II) conspiratorial activities 

11 threatening the national security in12 terest; or 

13 ‘‘(III) conspiratorial activities 

14 characteristic of organized crime; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) requires geolocation information 

16 be intercepted or used before an order au17 thorizing such interception or use can, with 

18 due diligence, be obtained; 

19 ‘‘(B) there are grounds upon which an 

20 order could be entered to authorize such inter21 ception or use; and 

22 ‘‘(C) an application for an order approving 

23 such interception or use is made within 48 

24 hours after the interception or use has occurred 

25 or begins to occur. 

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1 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO OBTAIN COURT ORDER.— 

2 ‘‘(A) TERMINATION OF ACQUISITION.—In 

3 the absence of an order, an interception or use 

4 of geolocation information carried out under 

5 paragraph (1) shall immediately terminate 

6 when the information sought is obtained or 

7 when the application for the order is denied, 

8 whichever is earlier. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON USE AS EVI10 DENCE.—In the event such application for ap11 proval is denied, the geolocation information 

12 shall be treated as having been obtained in vio13 lation of this chapter and an inventory shall be 

14 served on each individual who is reasonably able 

15 to be contacted and to whom any such 

16 geolocation information pertains. 

17 ‘‘§ 2603. Prohibition on disclosing geolocation infor18 mation to governmental entities 

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

20 (b), a person providing covered services shall not inten21 tionally disclose to any governmental entity geolocation in22 formation pertaining to an individual. 

23 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—A person providing covered serv24 ices may disclose geolocation information— 

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1 ‘‘(1) as otherwise authorized in subsections (b) 

2 through (g) of section 2602; 

3 ‘‘(2) with the lawful consent of— 

4 ‘‘(A) the individual to whom the 

5 geolocation information pertains; or 

6 ‘‘(B) the parent or guardian of a child to 

7 whom the geolocation information pertains; 

8 ‘‘(3) as permitted under section 222(d)(4) of 

9 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

10 222(d)(4)); or 

11 ‘‘(4) which was inadvertently obtained by the 

12 service provider and which appears to pertain to the 

13 commission of a crime, if such disclosure is made to 

14 a law enforcement agency. 

15 ‘‘§ 2604. Prohibition of use of unlawfully obtained 

16 geolocation information as evidence 

17 ‘‘If any geolocation information has been intercepted, 

18 used, or disclosed in violation of this chapter, no part of 

19 such information and no evidence derived therefrom may 

20 be received in evidence in any trial, hearing, or other pro21 ceeding in or before any court, grand jury, department, 

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

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

24 subdivision thereof, except in a civil action to obtain relief 

25 for a violation of this chapter. 

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1 ‘‘§ 2605. Recovery of civil damages and administra2 tive discipline authorized 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any individual whose geolocation 

4 information is intentionally disclosed or used in violation 

5 of this chapter may in a civil action recover such relief 

6 as may be appropriate from the person, other than the 

7 United States, which engaged in that violation. 

8 ‘‘(b) RELIEF.—In an action under this section, ap9 propriate relief includes— 

10 ‘‘(1) such preliminary and other equitable or 

11 declaratory relief as the court may deem appro12 priate; 

13 ‘‘(2) damages under subsection (c) and punitive 

14 damages as the court may deem appropriate; and 

15 ‘‘(3) a reasonable attorney’s fee and other liti16 gation costs reasonably incurred. 

17 ‘‘(c) COMPUTATION OF DAMAGES.—The court may 

18 assess as damages under this section whichever is the 

19 greater of— 

20 ‘‘(1) the sum of the actual damages suffered by 

21 the plaintiff; or 

22 ‘‘(2) statutory damages of whichever is the 

23 greater of $100 a day for each day of violation or 

24 $10,000. 

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1 ‘‘(d) DEFENSE.—It is a defense against any civil ac2 tion to obtain relief for a violation of this chapter that 

3 the defendant acted in a good faith reliance on— 

4 ‘‘(1) a warrant or court order, grand jury sub5 poena, legislative authorization, or statutory author6 ization; or 

7 ‘‘(2) a reasonable determination that an excep8 tion under section 2602 permitted the conduct com9 plained of. 

10 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—A civil action under this section 

11 may not be commenced later than two years after the date 

12 upon which the claimant first has a reasonable oppor13 tunity to discover the violation. 

14 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE DISCIPLINE.—If a court or ap15 propriate department or agency determines that the 

16 United States or any of its departments or agencies has 

17 violated any provision of this chapter, and the court or 

18 appropriate department or agency finds that the cir19 cumstances surrounding the violation raise serious ques20 tions about whether or not an officer or employee of the 

21 United States acted willfully or intentionally with respect 

22 to the violation, the department or agency shall, upon re23 ceipt of a true and correct copy of the decision and find24 ings of the court or appropriate department or agency 

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1 ciplinary action against the officer or employee is war2 ranted. If the head of the department or agency involved 

3 determines that disciplinary action is not warranted, such 

4 head shall notify the Inspector General with jurisdiction 

5 over the department or agency concerned and shall provide 

6 the Inspector General with the reasons for such deter7 mination.’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

9 chapters for part 1 of title 18, United States Code, 

10 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

11 chapter 119 the following: 

‘‘120. Geolocation information .................................................................. 2601’’. 

12 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

13 3512(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amend14 ed— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

17 (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), 

18 (D), and (E), respectively; and 

19 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

20 (A) the following: 

21 ‘‘(B) a warrant or order for geolocation in22 formation or records related thereto, as pro23 vided under section 2602 of this title;’’. 

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1 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR SEARCH WARRANTS TO OB2 TAIN GEOLOCATION INFORMATION.—Rule 41(a) of the 

3 Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking the period 

5 at the end and inserting a comma and ‘‘including 

6 geolocation information.’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(F) ‘Geolocation information’ has the 

9 meaning given that term in section 2601 of title 

10 18, United States Code.’’. 

11 (c) STATEMENT OF EXCLUSIVE MEANS OF OBTAIN12 ING GEOLOCATION INFORMATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person may obtain the 

14 geolocation information of a person for protective ac15 tivities or law enforcement or intelligence purposes 

16 except pursuant to a warrant issued pursuant to 

17 rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 

18 as amended by subsection (b), or the amendments 

19 made by this section, or the Foreign Intelligence 

20 Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801). 

21 (2) GEOLOCATION INFORMATION DEFINED.—In 

22 this subsection, the term ‘‘geolocation information’’ 

23 has the meaning given that term in section 2601 of 

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1 title 18, United States Code, as amended by sub2 section (a). 

Æ 

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