NDO Fairness Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced
Summary
A formal preclusion-of-notice process would let a government entity ask a court to block notifying a subscriber or third party about a warrant, order, or subpoena under 18 U.S.C. 2703. The request would face strict time limits and written judicial findings.
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- Named customers or subscribers would receive notice within 5 business days after a preclusion order expires and would get a copy of disclosed records within 180 days, except for illicit material like child sexual content.
- Service providers could be ordered to stay silent while they challenge the order and may disclose to necessary parties or lawyers who are bound by nondisclosure rules.
- Courts must review the underlying warrant and issue written findings grounded in specific facts before granting an order. Orders could last up to 1 year for child sexual offenses and up to 90 days for other investigations, with extensions of up to 90 days.
- Investigators could seek preclusion when notice would likely cause danger to life, flight from prosecution, destruction or tampering with evidence, witness intimidation, or serious jeopardy to an investigation.
- The Attorney General must publish an annual report, by federal judicial district, listing counts of orders and delays, media-affected orders, and outcomes such as arrests, trials, and convictions.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Court gag orders on providers
If enacted, the bill would let a court order an electronic communications or remote computing service provider not to tell anyone about a 2703 warrant, order, or subpoena. A court could only grant such an order after reviewing the underlying warrant and making written findings based on specific facts that notice would likely cause harms like danger to life, flight, evidence tampering, witness intimidation, or serious jeopardy to the investigation. Initial nondisclosure could last up to 90 days, or up to 1 year for child sexual-exploitation offenses; extensions of up to 90 days are possible with the same written findings. Providers could seek to lift or modify orders, and they may disclose to people needed to comply or to counsel, but those recipients must remain bound by nondisclosure rules. The government must give the provider a copy of the warrant when serving the order and must tell the court within 14 days if material facts change.
More notice after secrecy orders
If enacted, the bill would require the government to tell named customers or subscribers soon after a secrecy (nondisclosure) order ends. The government would have five business days to send notice by at least two methods, like mail and email. You would have 180 days after that notice to ask for the records the government received or to get a written certification that no records were disclosed. Some illegal materials and child sexual abuse material would not be turned over, and any redactions would need a court finding. The Attorney General would also be required to publish a yearly, district-by-district report about delayed-notice and nondisclosure orders and related arrests, trials, and convictions.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
DE • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
UT • R
Sponsored 1/15/2026
Sen. Blackburn, Marsha [R-TN]
TN • R
Sponsored 2/9/2026
Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
TX • R
Sponsored 2/9/2026
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 2/11/2026
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 3/5/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov