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Email Privacy Act
Introduced May 22, 2026 · Last action May 22, 2026 — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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Summary
This legislation is called the Email Privacy Act. Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Full bill text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9016 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9016
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
May 22, 2026
Ms. DelBene (for herself and Mr. Davidson) 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Email Privacy Act''.
SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE CORRECTIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 2702 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``divulge'' and inserting
``disclose''; and
(ii) by striking ``while in electronic
storage by that service'' and inserting ``that
is in electronic storage with or otherwise
stored, held, or maintained by that service'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``to the public'';
(ii) by striking ``divulge'' and inserting
``disclose''; and
(iii) by striking ``which is carried or
maintained on that service'' and inserting
``that is stored, held, or maintained by that
service''; and
(C) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``divulge'' and inserting
``disclose''; and
(ii) by striking ``a provider of'' and
inserting ``a person or entity providing'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``divulge'' and inserting
``disclose''; and
(ii) by inserting ``wire or electronic''
before ``communication'';
(B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) to an originator, addressee, or intended recipient of
such communication, to the subscriber or customer on whose
behalf the provider stores, holds, or maintains such
communication, or to an agent of such addressee, intended
recipient, subscriber, or customer;''; and
(C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
``(3) with the lawful consent of the originator, addressee,
or intended recipient of such communication, or of the
subscriber or customer on whose behalf the provider stores,
holds, or maintains such communication;''; and
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``divulge'' and inserting
``disclose''; and
(ii) by inserting ``wire or electronic''
before ``communications''; and
(B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) with the lawful consent of the subscriber or
customer;''.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO REQUIRED DISCLOSURE SECTION.
(a) In General.--Section 2703 of title 18, United States Code is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``A governmental entity'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in subsections (i) and
(j), a governmental entity'';
(B) by striking ``provider of electronic
communication service'' and inserting ``provider of
electronic communication service or remote computing
service'';
(C) by striking ``pursuant to'' and inserting ``if
the governmental entity obtains'';
(D) by striking ``by a court of competent
jurisdiction.'' and inserting ``that is issued by a
court of competent jurisdiction and that may indicate
the date by which the provider must make the disclosure
to the governmental entity. In the absence of a date on
the warrant indicating the date by which the provider
must make disclosure to the governmental entity, the
provider shall promptly respond to the warrant.''; and
(E) by striking ``provider of electronic
communication services'' and inserting ``provider of
electronic communication service or remote computing
service'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A)--
(I) by striking ``A governmental
entity'' and inserting ``Except as
provided in subsections (i) and (j), a
governmental entity''; and
(II) by striking ``only when the
governmental entity'' and inserting
``only'';
(ii) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``obtains a warrant
issued'' and inserting ``if the
governmental entity obtains a
warrant'';
(II) by striking ``by the
President) by a court'' and inserting
the following: ``by the President)
that--
``(i) is issued by a court'';
(III) by inserting ``and'' after
``jurisdiction;''; and
(IV) by adding at the end the
following:
``(ii) may indicate the date by which the
provider must make the disclosure to the
governmental entity;'';
(iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting
``if the governmental entity'' before
``obtains'';
(iv) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``has
the consent of the subscriber or customer to
such disclosure;'' and inserting ``with the
lawful consent of the subscriber or customer;
or'';
(v) by striking subparagraph (D);
(vi) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as
subparagraph (D);and
(vii) in subparagraph (D), as so
redesignated, by striking ``seeks information''
and inserting ``as otherwise authorized''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``, in response to an
administrative subpoena authorized by Federal
or State statute, a grand jury, trial, or civil
discovery subpoena, or any means available
under paragraph (1),'' after ``shall''; and
(ii) in the matter following subparagraph
(F), by striking ``of a subscriber'' and all
that follows and inserting ``of a subscriber or
customer of such service.'';
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking ``the contents of a wire or
electronic communication, or'';
(B) by striking ``sought,'' and inserting
``sought''; and
(C) by striking ``section'' and inserting
``subsection''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(h) Notice.--Except as provided in section 2705, a provider of
electronic communication service or remote computing service may notify
a subscriber or customer of a receipt of a warrant, court order,
subpoena, or request under subsection (a), (c), or (d) of this section.
``(i) Rule of Construction Related to Legal Process.--Nothing in
this section or in section 2702 shall modify the authorities for a
governmental entity to obtain a wire or electronic communication
(including the contents of that communication) from a provider of a
remote computing service or electronic communication service if--
``(1) the originator, addressee, or intended recipient of
such communication is an officer, director, employee, or agent
of the provider acting in their capacity as such an officer,
director, employee, or agent; or
``(2) the communication--
``(A) advertises or promotes a product or service;
and
``(B) has been made readily available to the
general public.
``(j) Rule of Construction Related to Congressional Subpoenas.--
Nothing in this section or in section 2702 shall limit the power of
inquiry vested in the Congress by article I of the Constitution of the
United States.''
(b) Warrant Requirement for Stored Communications Content.--Section
2703 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``, that is in electronic storage
in an electronic communications system for one hundred
and eighty days or less,''; and
(B) by striking the last sentence;
(2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) [Repealed].''; and
(3) in subsection (d) by striking ``(b) or''.
<all>Official legislative text sourced from the public record (cached on CivicsHQ).
Official source
View the original bill, actions, and full legislative record on Congress.gov.
Status
In Committee
- 1Introduced
- 2Committee
- 3Floor
- 4Passed
- 5Signed
Timeline reflects current normalized status only. Full action history is not yet stored in the API.
Sponsors
- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1]DHouseWA
Votes
Voting records are not yet available for this bill.