Right-leaning groups back international data privacy bill

A coalition of right-leaning groups is pressing Congress to act on legislation that would create a new legal framework that allows law enforcement to access US electronic communications held on servers abroad. The bipartisan bill, called the International Communications Privacy Act (ICPA), has been introduced by Reps Doug Collins (R-GA) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in the House and Sens Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Dean Heller (R-NV) in the Senate.

The bill seeks to clarify the process by which law enforcement obtains electronic data on US citizens for investigations, regardless of the location of the communications. It would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant for all content. It would also allow law enforcement to, in certain circumstances, obtain electronic communications on foreign nationals. On Oct 25, right-leaning organizations including Americans for Tax Reform and the R Street Institute wrote to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees pressing them to swiftly consider the bill.