S.Amdt. 4747

SA 4747. Mr. HATCH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 4685 proposed by Mr. Shelby (for himself and Ms. Mikulski)
to the bill H.R. 2578, making appropriations for the Departments of
Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes; which was ordered to
lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL DATA
PRIVACY.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) When the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Public
Law 99-508; 100 Stat. 1848) (in this section referred to as
``ECPA'') was enacted in 1986, no one could have envisioned
the globalization of the Internet and electronic
communications.
(2) Today, multinational companies serve their customers
around the world by storing and transferring data through a
complex network of global data centers.
(3) Because ECPA never contemplated the global networks
that technology companies operate today, ECPA presents unique
challenges for a number of industries that increasingly face
a conflict between Federal law in the United States and the
laws of other countries. For example, when a technology
company receives a demand from a Federal law enforcement
agency to turn over data on behalf of foreign customers, that
company is forced to make a difficult decision: either comply
with the demand and satisfy Federal law or risk violating the
privacy laws of the host country. The same is true in reverse
because when foreign governments compel global providers to
disclose information, even information about the citizens of
those governments, Federal law in the United States sometimes
prohibits the providers from complying.
(4) Modernizing ECPA to better reflect the truly global
nature of global technology will--
(A) better serve the interests of law enforcement, both in
the United States and abroad;
(B) protect individual privacy; and
(C) promote innovation and the free flow of information.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Federal Government--
(1) must safeguard data throughout the world from
unauthorized access by law enforcement agencies; and
(2) should--
(A) require law enforcement agencies in the United States
to obtain a warrant for all electronic content;
(B) create a clear international legal framework that
provides law enforcement agencies with an efficient process
to obtain information while--
(i) protecting the privacy of all individuals; and
(ii) respecting the laws of other countries; and
(C) strengthen the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty process
by providing greater efficiency, accessibility, transparency,
and accountability.
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