# 119-s-4649: Email Privacy Act

119-s-4649, Email Privacy Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4649
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4649
- Congress: 119
- Title: Email Privacy Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-01
- Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Modernize privacy protections for stored electronic communications** and clarify when government entities can obtain those communications from third‑party service providers. This bill would update key disclosure and warrant rules in 18 U.S.C. §2702 and §2703 to reflect modern electronic and cloud services. - Families and consumers: Expands who may receive disclosures to include an originator, addressee, intended recipient, the subscriber or customer, and their agents. It also creates an explicit option for providers to notify subscribers or customers when they receive a warrant, court order, subpoena, or similar request. - Service providers: Replaces the term “divulge” with “disclose” and broadens covered material to communications “in electronic storage” or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by providers. It also brings remote computing services alongside electronic communication services in the statute. - Government and courts: Requires warrants to be issued by a court of competent jurisdiction and lets warrants set a date for required disclosure with a prompt response otherwise. It also expands the kinds of legal process that may compel disclosure under the revised §2703, such as administrative subpoenas and grand jury or civil discovery orders.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New rules for government access: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would change how the government can force providers to give stored communications. It would repeal the 180-day stored-communications carve-out and remove subsection (b) of 18 U.S.C. 2703. Governmental entities would generally need a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisd…
- New provider notice and sharing rules: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would expand which companies are covered. Providers of electronic communication or remote computing services would be included. Providers could optionally notify a subscriber or customer if they receive a warrant, court order, subpoena, or certain requests; that notice could st…
- Exceptions that preserve government access: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would say that sections on disclosure do not limit some government access. That includes messages where the sender or recipient is a company officer, director, employee, or agent acting for the provider. It also includes communications that advertise or promote a product and ha…

## Related bills

- 119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act
- 119-s-4280: SAFE Act
- 119-s-4082: Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026
- 119-s-410: Love Lives On Act of 2025
- 119-s-263: FAIR Act of 2025
- 119-s-3918: Government Surveillance Transparency Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-4649 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4649)

## Related
- [119-s-891: Bipartisan Health Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-891)
- [119-s-4280: SAFE Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4280)
- [119-s-4082: Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4082)
- [119-s-410: Love Lives On Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-410)
- [119-s-263: FAIR Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-263)
- [119-s-3918: Government Surveillance Transparency Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3918)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4649 (as of 2026-08-11).