Protecting Data at the Border Act
Latest action · Oct 7, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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.
- IntroducedOct 7, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Data at the Border Act
This bill limits government access to digital information at the border.
A governmental entity may not (1) access the digital contents of electronic equipment of a U.S. person at the border without a warrant, (2) deny such a person's entry into or exit from the United States because the person refused to provide access to digital content on electronic equipment or online account information, (3) delay such a person's entry or exit for more than four hours to determine whether the person will consent to providing access to online information, or (4) seize electronic equipment from a U.S. person without probable cause to believe that such equipment contains information relevant to a felony.
A governmental entity may access the contents of electronic equipment of a U.S. person without a warrant in an emergency. The entity must subsequently apply for a warrant within seven days, and if a warrant is not granted, the seized information must be destroyed and may not be disclosed.
A governmental entity may not make or retain a copy of information accessed under this bill without probable cause to believe that such information relates to a crime.
Information seized in violation of this bill (1) must be destroyed, (2) may not be disclosed, and (3) may not be received in evidence in any trial or government proceeding.
A governmental entity shall keep a record of each instance in which it obtains access to an individual's digital information at the border.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Oct 7, 2021.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Oct 7, 2021 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Oct 7, 2021 |
| R-KY | Rand Paul | Original | Oct 7, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 7, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Oct 7, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5524 | Protecting Data at the Border Act | Identical bill | Nov 1, 2022 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 7, 2021Introduced in Senate
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.