Sponsors
Want the plain-English version? I'll explain what this bill does.
This is not an official government website.
Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.
Requires large online service providers (those with 1,000,000+ users) to produce user communications or account records in response to lawful court orders or warrants within 72 hours. Courts may grant only limited extensions, the window for providers to move to quash or modify orders is shortened, and users or providers can bring a private civil lawsuit if the provider fails to comply on time.
The bill speeds government access to records from large providers and creates private remedies for harmful delays, at the cost of narrower privacy protections, greater risk of hurried or overbroad disclosures, and higher compliance and litigation pressures on providers.
People subject to investigations and the general public: law enforcement and courts will obtain records and communications from large providers faster (clear 72-hour deadline with defined extensions), which can speed case resolution and public-safety investigations.
Individuals harmed by delayed disclosures: victims and others can sue for injunctive relief and damages against providers who miss disclosure deadlines, creating a private remedy to address harms from delay.
Large providers and government actors: a predictable statutory timeline and defined extension process reduces uncertainty about response expectations and standardizes compliance procedures.
Customers of large online services: faster mandatory disclosures reduce the time privacy protections can operate, increasing the risk that private communications are disclosed to authorities more quickly than under current practice.
Users of large online services: compressed deadlines increase the chance providers will produce records hurriedly, causing errors or overbroad disclosures that expose unrelated user data.
Covered providers and consumers: requiring faster processing creates higher compliance and legal costs for large providers, which may be passed to users or impact service offerings.
Covered providers and users: a shorter window to seek judicial relief and the prospect of private lawsuits increase litigation pressures and may chill providers' willingness to challenge questionable orders, reducing a check on overbroad government demands.
Amends 18 U.S.C. § 2703 by adding special rules for "covered providers."
Requires a warrant or court order under section 2703 to mandate that a covered provider disclose the contents of a wire or electronic communication, or the records or other information sought, no later than 72 hours after issuance.
Allows a court to extend the 72-hour disclosure period by increments of no more than 7 days if the information sought is voluminous or complex.
Sets the deadline for a covered provider to file a motion under subsection (g)(2) to quash or modify the order at 48 hours.
Establishes a private civil cause of action allowing an individual harmed by a covered provider's failure to comply with the court-ordered time period to sue in federal district court for injunctive relief and damages.
Who is affected and how:
Broader considerations:
Overall, the law places a strong, near-immediate production obligation on very large platforms that shifts risk and costs toward those companies and speeds law enforcement access at the potential expense of time for legal review and privacy safeguards.
Expand sections to see detailed analysis
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Brittany Pettersen · Last progress February 9, 2026
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House