Sponsor
Brittany Pettersen
Representative · D-CO
Representative · D-CO
The bill speeds access to evidence and gives individuals quicker enforcement tools against very large providers, at the cost of increased privacy/accuracy risks from tight deadlines, higher litigation and compliance costs, and complex differential treatment of platforms.
Taxpayers (and the public) may get faster, more timely law-enforcement access to evidence from very large online providers because courts can require rapid (72-hour) turnaround, which can help investigations and public safety.
Individuals whose communications are sought (including students and people with disabilities) gain quicker access to court-ordered disclosures and a private right of action to enforce delays by large providers, improving their ability to challenge or obtain records promptly.
Courts and parties get clearer, faster deadlines (e.g., 48 hours for providers to move to quash or modify orders), reducing procedural uncertainty and speeding case resolution for those involved in litigation.
Very short mandatory deadlines (e.g., 72 hours) for large providers risk rushed, technically infeasible, or erroneous disclosures and may pressure providers to sacrifice privacy safeguards — increasing the chance that sensitive data about students and people with disabilities is improperly released.
Covered providers face significant new litigation exposure and potential damages, which is likely to raise their compliance and legal costs and could be passed on to users or cause service changes that affect taxpayers and tech workers.
Creating a 1,000,000-user threshold that treats very large platforms differently introduces equity and operational complexity about which providers qualify, potentially disadvantaging small businesses and complicating compliance for platform operators.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Imposes a 72-hour disclosure deadline for warrants/orders served on providers with 1,000,000+ users, a 48-hour window to challenge, and a private right of action for missed deadlines.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide special rules for the time period for complying court orders or warrants to disclose information for certain providers, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Brittany Pettersen · Last progress February 9, 2026
Requires very large online service providers (those with 1,000,000+ users) to produce content and records in response to warrants or court orders within 72 hours unless the court grants a short extension; providers get 48 hours to move to quash or modify, and users harmed by a provider’s failure to meet the court-ordered deadline can sue for injunctions and damages. The measure adds a statutory timing rule and a private right of action tied to compliance timing, and defines the covered provider threshold at one million users.