Privacy Protection Updates Act
Sponsored By: Senator Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced
Summary
Strengthens legal protections for newsgathering materials. This bill would expand the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 to block use of journalists' records and evidence derived from them except where narrow exceptions apply and courts find those exceptions justified.
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- Journalists and newsrooms would gain an affirmative suppression remedy. An aggrieved person could move to suppress seized materials if the search was unlawful or the warrant was facially insufficient, and suppressed items would be treated as obtained in violation of the Act.
- Warrant applications for “covered materials” must disclose the factual basis for any claimed exception, identify all investigation targets, and the court must find the exception applies and, where relevant, that prosecution aligns with the First Amendment. The bill also lets officers do an emergency search if they limit the search and file a detailed application within 48 hours for court review, which can order return, destruction, or limits on use.
- For cloud-stored records, a customer or subscriber is deemed to possess materials stored by or for them on electronic communication or remote computing services.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Stronger privacy for reporters' records
If enacted, this would strengthen privacy protections for news-gathering records and similar materials. Officials would generally need a court warrant before searching or seizing those covered materials. Warrant requests would have to say why any exception applies and name the targets, and courts must limit searches to prevent harm. For some emergency searches, officials could act first but must ask a court within 48 hours; the court could then order return, destruction, or limits on use. People could move to suppress unlawfully searched or seized materials and bar evidence derived from them in most proceedings. The bill would also treat a customer or subscriber as possessing files stored for them on email or cloud services (see title 18, sections 2510 and 2711).
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
OR • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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