‘‘CHAPTER 124—ACCESSING VEHICLE 
DATA. 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘2730. Definitions. 
‘‘2731. Prohibition on access to vehicle data. 
‘‘2732. Prohibition on use of acquired information as evidence. 
‘‘§ 2730. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter: 
‘‘(1) ACCESS.—The term ‘access’— 
‘‘(A) means any retrieval of covered vehicle 
data, regardless of— 
‘‘(i) whether the data is obtained as 
the information is being produced or from 
digital storage; and 
‘‘(ii) where the vehicle data is stored 
or transmitted, including by wire or radio; 
and 
‘‘(B) does not include data covered by 
chapter 119 or section 104 of the Foreign Intel-
ligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 
1804). 
‘‘(2) CONSENT.—The term ‘consent’— 
‘‘(A) means an affirmative, express, and 
voluntary agreement that— 
‘‘(i) states that the person providing 
the consent is providing consent to a gov-
ernment official to access the digital con-
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tents, access credential, or online account 
information, or other information being 
sought; 
‘‘(ii) specifies the type of content, ac-
cess credential, or online account informa-
tion the person is providing access to; 
‘‘(iii) specifies the time period of the 
covered vehicle data to be accessed; 
‘‘(iv) informs the person providing 
consent that consent is optional and that 
the government official attempting to ob-
tain consent must otherwise acquire a war-
rant if consent is not obtained; 
‘‘(v) does not involve sanctions or the 
threat of sanctions for withholding consent; 
and 
‘‘(vi) uses clear, simple, and com-
prehensible language that is presented in a 
way that is accessible to the person pro-
viding consent; and 
‘‘(B) does not include consent obtained 
through agreement to a generic privacy policy. 
‘‘(3) COVERED VEHICLE DATA.—The term ‘cov-
ered vehicle data’— 
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‘‘(A) means all onboard and telematics 
data generated by, processed by, or stored on a 
noncommercial vehicle using computing, storage 
and communication systems installed, attached 
to, or carried in the vehicle, including diagnostic 
data, entertainment system data, navigation 
data, images or data captured by onboard sen-
sors, or cameras, including images or data used 
to support automated features or autonomous 
driving, internet access, and communication to 
and from vehicle occupants; 
‘‘(B) includes data gathered by event data 
recorders; and 
‘‘(C) does not include— 
‘‘(i) automotive software installed by 
the manufacturer, as defined by applicable 
industry standards or regulations; 
‘‘(ii) any data subject to chapter 119 
or section 104 of the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 
1804); or 
‘‘(iii) data that is collected from out-
side the vehicle, including speed data and 
geolocation data, for purposes of traffic, 
law enforcement, or toll collection. 
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‘‘(4) EVENT
DATA
RECORDER.—The term 
‘event data recorder’ has the meaning given the term 
in section 563.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (as in effect on March 5, 2019). 
‘‘(5) INVESTIGATIVE
OR
LAW
ENFORCEMENT 
OFFICER.—The term ‘investigative or law enforce-
ment officer’ means any officer of the United States 
or of a State or political subdivision thereof and any 
Tribal justice official, who is empowered by law to 
execute searches, to seize evidence, or to make ar-
rests for a violation of Federal or State law. 
‘‘(6) NONCOMMERCIAL
VEHICLE.—The term 
‘noncommercial vehicle’ has the meaning given the 
term ‘non-CMV’ in section 383.5 of title 49, Code of 
Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(7) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
and any territory or possession of the United States. 
‘‘(8) VEHICLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘vehicle 
operator’ means— 
‘‘(A) a person who controls the operation 
of a vehicle at the time consent is sought; and 
‘‘(B) with respect to a vehicle that is not 
classified as a highly autonomous vehicle by the 
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Secretary of Transportation, the driver of the 
vehicle. 
‘‘§ 2731. Prohibition on access to vehicle data 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), an investigative or law enforcement officer may not 
access covered vehicle data unless pursuant to a warrant 
issued in accordance with the procedures described in rule 
41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the 
case of a State court, issued using State warrant proce-
dures) by a court of competent jurisdiction, or as other-
wise provided in this chapter or sections 104 and 303 of 
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
U.S.C. 1804, 1823). 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CONSENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An investigative or 
law enforcement officer may access covered ve-
hicle data if— 
‘‘(i) the vehicle operator provides prior 
consent to such access; and 
‘‘(ii) no passenger 14 years of age or 
older objects to the access. 
‘‘(B) VEHICLE OWNER.—If the vehicle op-
erator cannot be located with reasonable effort, 
the vehicle owner or, in the case of a leased ve-
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hicle, the lessee, may provide consent under this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(C) UNLAWFUL
POSSESSION.—No indi-
vidual may provide or withhold consent under 
this paragraph or object to another individual 
accessing covered vehicle data if the indi-
vidual— 
‘‘(i) is the vehicle operator who is in 
unlawful possession of the vehicle; or 
‘‘(ii) is a passenger who unlawfully 
obtained access to the vehicle. 
‘‘(D) ORAL CONSENT.—Consent provided 
under this paragraph shall be in writing un-
less— 
‘‘(i) the person providing the consent 
requests that the consent be made orally; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the request for consent and the 
consent are recorded. 
‘‘(E) CONSENT OF VEHICLE OPERATOR.— 
If the vehicle operator is not the owner of the 
vehicle and provides consent under this para-
graph, the consent is valid only with respect to 
covered vehicle data generated during the lawful 
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possession and use of the vehicle by the vehicle 
operator. 
‘‘(2) EMERGENCY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An investigative or 
law enforcement officer, the Attorney General, 
the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate At-
torney General, or the principal prosecuting at-
torney of any State or subdivision thereof act-
ing pursuant to a statute of that State, may ac-
cess covered vehicle data if— 
‘‘(i) such officer reasonably deter-
mines that an emergency situation exists 
that— 
‘‘(I) involves immediate danger of 
death or serious physical injury to any 
person; and 
‘‘(II) requires access to covered 
vehicle data before such officer can, 
with due diligence, obtain a warrant; 
‘‘(ii) there are grounds upon which a 
warrant could be granted to authorize such 
access; and 
‘‘(iii) an application for a warrant ap-
proving such access is submitted to a court 
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within 48 hours after the access has oc-
curred or begins to occur. 
‘‘(B) DENIAL.—If an application for a 
warrant submitted pursuant to subparagraph 
(A)(iii) is denied, any covered vehicle data 
accessed under this paragraph shall be treated 
as having been obtained in violation of this 
chapter. 
‘‘(3) EVENT DATA RECORDER FOR MOTOR VE-
HICLE
SAFETY.—In addition to the exceptions in 
paragraphs (1) and (2), data recorded or trans-
mitted by an event data recorder may be accessed 
from a noncommercial vehicle if authorized by para-
graph (3), (4), or (5) of section 24302(b) of the 
Driver Privacy Act of 2015 (49 U.S.C. 30101 note). 
‘‘(4) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this section shall be interpreted to require the trans-
mission or storage of data that is not otherwise 
transmitted or stored, or the retrieval of data that 
is not generally retrievable. 
‘‘§ 2732. Prohibition on use of acquired information 
as evidence 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If any covered vehicle data has 
been acquired in violation of this chapter, no part of such 
information and no evidence derived therefrom may be re-
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ceived in evidence in any trial, hearing, or other pro-
ceeding in or before any court, grand jury, department, 
officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative committee, or 
other authority of the United States, a State, or a political 
subdivision thereof. 
‘‘(b) PROBABLE CAUSE.—No data described in sec-
tion 2731(b)(3) may be used to establish probable cause.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) DRIVER
PRIVACY
ACT
OF
2015.—Section 
24302 of the Driver Privacy Act of 2015 (49 U.S.C. 
30101 note) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (b), in the matter pre-
ceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Data’’ and 
inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (c), 
data’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) INVESTIGATIVE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI-
CERS.—An investigative or law enforcement officer may 
only access or retrieve data recorded or transmitted by an 
event data recorder described in subsection (a) in accord-
ance with chapter 124 of title 18, United States Code.’’. 
(2) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap-
ters for part 1 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘124. Accessing vehicle data ......................................................... 2730’’. 
Æ 
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