I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 699 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to update the privacy protections 
for electronic communications information that is stored by third-party 
service providers in order to protect consumer privacy interests while 
meeting law enforcement needs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 4, 2015 
Mr. YODER (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. AMASH, 
Mr. AMODEI, Mr. BABIN, Mr. BARLETTA, Mr. BARR, Mr. BARTON, Mr. 
BENISHEK, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mrs. 
BLACK, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BLUM, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOUSTANY, 
Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Ms. BROWN of Florida, 
Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. BUR-
GESS, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. CALVERT, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARTER of Georgia, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. 
CHAFFETZ, Ms. CHU of California, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARK of Massa-
chusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAWSON of Florida, Mr. 
CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COLE, Mr. COLLINS of New York, Mr. CON-
NOLLY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. CULBERSON, 
Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, 
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 
DELBENE, 
Mr. 
DENHAM, 
Mr. 
DENT, 
Mr. 
DESAULNIER, 
Mr. 
DESJARLAIS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. DOLD, Mr. MICHAEL 
F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. DUNCAN 
of South Carolina, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. ELLI-
SON, Mrs. ELLMERS, Mr. EMMER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. ESTY, Mr. 
FARENTHOLD, Mr. FARR, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. 
FLORES, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. FRELING-
HUYSEN, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARRETT, 
Mr. GIBBS, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. GRAVES of Geor-
gia, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. GUINTA, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. 
HANNA, Mr. HARRIS, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. HERRERA 
BEUTLER, Mr. HILL, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HONDA, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. 
HUELSKAMP, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. HUNTER, 
Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JENKINS of 
Kansas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JOLLY, Mr. JONES, Mr. JORDAN, 
Mr. JOYCE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Ms. 
KUSTER, Mr. LABRADOR, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. LANCE, Mr. LATTA, Ms. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. LONG, 
Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mrs. LOVE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, 
Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM 
of New Mexico, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. MARINO, Mr. 
MASSIE, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. MEE-
HAN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MESSER, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. 
MULVANEY, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mrs. NOEM, Mr. NOLAN, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. NUGENT, Mr. NUNES, Mr. OLSON, Mr. O’ROURKE, Mr. 
PALAZZO, Mr. PAULSEN, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. POE of Texas, 
Mr. POLIQUIN, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. POSEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RANGEL, 
Mr. REED, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. RICE of South Carolina, Mrs. ROBY, Mr. 
ROE of Tennessee, Mr. ROKITA, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. ROUZER, 
Mr. RUIZ, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. SALMON, Mr. 
SANFORD, Mr. SCALISE, Mr. SCHOCK, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, 
Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SENSEN-
BRENNER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHUSTER, Mr. SIMPSON, 
Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Missouri, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Ms. 
SPEIER, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. STUTZMAN, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. 
TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. 
TONKO, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. TURNER, Mr. VALADAO, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. 
WALKER, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. WELCH, 
Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. 
WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. YOHO, Mr. 
YOUNG of Indiana, Mr. YOUNG of Iowa, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. MCNERNEY, 
Mr. RICHMOND, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. SHERMAN, and Ms. PIN-
GREE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to update the privacy 
protections for electronic communications information 
that is stored by third-party service providers in order 
to protect consumer privacy interests while meeting law 
enforcement needs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Email Privacy Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. CONFIDENTIALITY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICA-
TIONS. 
Section 2702(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) a provider of remote computing service or 
electronic communication service to the public shall 
not knowingly divulge to any governmental entity 
the contents of any communication described in sec-
tion 2703(a), or any record or other information 
pertaining to a subscriber or customer of such serv-
ice.’’. 
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF 180-DAY RULE; SEARCH WARRANT 
REQUIREMENT; REQUIRED DISCLOSURE OF 
CUSTOMER RECORDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2703 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) CONTENTS OF WIRE OR ELECTRONIC COMMU-
NICATIONS.—A governmental entity may require the dis-
closure by a provider of electronic communication service 
or remote computing service of the contents of a wire or 
electronic communication that is in electronic storage with 
or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider 
only if the governmental entity obtains a warrant issued 
using the procedures described in the Federal Rules of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a State court, 
issued using State warrant procedures) that is issued by 
a court of competent jurisdiction directing the disclosure. 
‘‘(b) NOTICE.—Except as provided in section 2705, 
not later than 10 business days in the case of a law en-
forcement agency, or not later than 3 business days in 
the case of any other governmental entity, after a govern-
mental entity receives the contents of a wire or electronic 
communication of a subscriber or customer from a pro-
vider of electronic communication service or remote com-
puting service under subsection (a), the governmental en-
tity shall serve upon, or deliver to by registered or first- 
class mail, electronic mail, or other means reasonably cal-
culated to be effective, as specified by the court issuing 
the warrant, the subscriber or customer— 
‘‘(1) a copy of the warrant; and 
‘‘(2) a notice that includes the information re-
ferred to in clauses (i) and (ii) of section 
2705(a)(4)(B). 
‘‘(c) RECORDS CONCERNING ELECTRONIC COMMU-
NICATION SERVICE OR REMOTE COMPUTING SERVICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 
governmental entity may require a provider of elec-
tronic communication service or remote computing 
service to disclose a record or other information per-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
taining to a subscriber or customer of the provider 
or service (not including the contents of communica-
tions), only if the governmental entity— 
‘‘(A) obtains a warrant issued using the 
procedures described in the Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a State 
court, issued using State warrant procedures) 
that is issued by a court of competent jurisdic-
tion directing the disclosure; 
‘‘(B) obtains a court order directing the 
disclosure under subsection (d); 
‘‘(C) has the consent of the subscriber or 
customer to the disclosure; or 
‘‘(D) submits a formal written request rel-
evant to a law enforcement investigation con-
cerning telemarketing fraud for the name, ad-
dress, and place of business of a subscriber or 
customer of the provider or service that is en-
gaged in telemarketing (as defined in section 
2325). 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION TO BE DISCLOSED.—A pro-
vider of electronic communication service or remote 
computing service shall, in response to an adminis-
trative subpoena authorized by Federal or State 
statute, a grand jury, trial, or civil discovery sub-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
poena, or any means authorized under paragraph 
(1), disclose to a governmental entity the— 
‘‘(A) name; 
‘‘(B) address; 
‘‘(C) local and long distance telephone con-
nection records, or records of session times and 
durations; 
‘‘(D) length of service (including start 
date) and types of service used; 
‘‘(E) telephone or instrument number or 
other subscriber number or identity, including 
any temporarily assigned network address; and 
‘‘(F) means and source of payment for 
such service (including any credit card or bank 
account number), of a subscriber or customer of 
such service. 
‘‘(3) NOTICE NOT REQUIRED.—A governmental 
entity that receives records or information under 
this subsection is not required to provide notice to 
a subscriber or customer.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion or in section 2702 shall be construed to limit the au-
thority of a governmental entity to use an administrative 
subpoena authorized under a Federal or State statute or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
eign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), or any other provision of Fed-
eral law not specifically amended by this Act; or 
(2) records or other information relating to a 
subscriber or customer of any electronic communica-
tions service or remote computing service (not in-
cluding the content of such communications) pursu-
ant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), chapter 119 of title 
18 (commonly known as the ‘‘Wiretap Act’’), or any 
other provision of Federal law not specifically 
amended by this Act. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:32 Feb 11, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H699.IH
H699
SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS