HR 3557 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

REAP Act of 2013

Latest action · Jan 9, 2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedNov 20, 2013
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Reasonable Expectation of American Privacy Act of 2013 or the REAP Act of 2013 - Amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to prohibit a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service to the public from knowingly divulging subscriber or customer password information to any person or entity.

Provides exceptions from such prohibition to authorize such providers to disclose password information if it is:

  • required by the government pursuant to a warrant;
  • divulged with the customer's consent;
  • incident to the rendition of the service or to the protection of the rights or property of the service provider;
  • provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; or
  • divulged to the government if the provider believes that an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury requires disclosure without delay of password information relating to the emergency.

Revises procedures under which the government may require such providers to disclose the contents of wire or electronic communications. Eliminates the different requirements applicable under current law depending on whether such communications were: (1) stored for fewer than, or more than, 180 days by an electronic communication service; or (2) held by an electronic communication service or a remote computing service.

Requires the government to obtain a warrant from a court to require such providers to disclose the content of such communications with the same standards applying regardless of how long the communication has been held in electronic storage by an electronic communication service or whether the information is sought from an electronic communication service or a remote computing service. (Currently, when such communications have been stored for more than 180 days by an electronic communication service, or for any period of time by a remote computing service, the government may obtain the contents without required notice to the customer or subscriber when using a warrant; with prior notice or delayed notice using an administative, grand jury, or trial subpoena; or with prior notice or delayed notice under a court order when there are reasonable grounds to believe the contents are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation.)

Permits the government to require the disclosure of customer or subscriber password information under similar warrant procedures.

Prohibits password information from being included in a request by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for subscriber information, toll billing information, or electronic communication transactional records for counterintelligence purposes.

Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to exclude password information from the categories of tangible things (commonly referred to as business records) that the FBI may request in an application to a FISA court for a production order in an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.

Cosponsors

Members who signed on, in the order they did.

No cosponsors are on file for this measure.

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseJudiciary Committee
Referred Nov 20, 2013
Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee
Referred Jan 9, 2014
HouseIntelligence (Permanent Select) Committee
Referred Nov 20, 2013

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jan 9, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
  2. Nov 20, 2013Introduced in House
  3. Nov 20, 2013Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 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.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Amendment IV: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H7311.

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

ProductTitleKindPublished
R43322National Security Letters: Proposals in the 113th CongressReportJan 22, 2015

Related bills 3

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 607Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013Related billMay 16, 2013
HR 1847Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013Related billJun 14, 2013
HR 1852Email Privacy ActRelated billJun 14, 2013

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide increased protections for consumer or subscriber password information, and to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide that the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may not access password information pursuant to an order under section 501 of that Act, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
REAP Act of 2013
Reasonable Expectation of American Privacy Act of 2013

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Nov 20, 2013Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.