Sponsors (4)
Requires certain communications providers to disclose available device location information immediately to law enforcement officers or public safety answering point (PSAP) agents in emergency situations when the officer/agent asserts the device placed a 9-1-1 call within the prior 48 hours or there is reasonable suspicion someone is in danger. The measure obligates agencies to log requests, gives providers immunity for complying, and adds or clarifies definitions for covered services and investigative or law enforcement officers. The bill also includes a conforming amendment to 18 U.S.C. 2707(a), but the excerpted text to be inserted there was not provided, so the effect of that change is unclear from the available text.
Redesignates existing paragraph and subparagraph numbering in subsection (d) of 47 U.S.C. 222 (adjusting paragraph/subparagraph and subparagraph/subclause formatting as described).
Adds a new required-emergency-disclosure paragraph that, notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and (c), requires a provider of a covered service to provide available location information of a telecommunications device without delay to an investigative or law enforcement officer or a PSAP employee/agent acting on the officer’s behalf when the officer/agent asserts either that (i) the device was used to place a 9‑1‑1 call requesting emergency assistance during the preceding 48‑hour period, or (ii) there is reasonable suspicion the device is in possession of an individual involved in an emergency with a risk of death or serious physical harm.
Requires the investigative or law enforcement agency that employs the requesting officer/agent to maintain a record of each location-information request. The record must include: (i) the name of the officer or agent (and, if an agent, the name of the officer on whose behalf the agent acts); (ii) a description explaining the need for disclosure of location information; and (iii) a declaration that disclosure is needed under the conditions described in clauses (i) or (ii) of the new disclosure rule.
Provides a hold-harmless immunity: no civil cause of action or civil/administrative proceeding may be brought against a provider of a covered service, or its directors, officers, employees, agents, or vendors, for providing location information or assistance in accordance with the new required-disclosure paragraph and any regulations under that paragraph.
States that nothing in the amended section exempts a telecommunications carrier or provider of a covered service from complying with applicable State law that requires providing location information to an investigative or law enforcement officer or PSAP agent, when the circumstance applies. The text includes an ‘applicability’ clause stating the circumstance is where the officer/agent (I) makes the request while acting in the course of official duties, and (II) asserts the request is made for the purpose of responding to — (text continues in statute).
Last progress June 6, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 6, 2025 by Derek Schmidt
Primary effects fall on telecommunications and broadband providers who must implement rapid disclosure procedures and on emergency communications centers/PSAPs and law enforcement who will request and use location data. Providers may need to adapt systems and staffing to respond quickly, maintain logs, and document request bases. The immunity provision lowers legal risk for providers that comply in good faith. Individuals carrying devices stand to benefit from faster emergency location assistance in qualifying situations, but the change raises privacy concerns because it creates a statutory path for location disclosure without a warrant or court order in specified circumstances. Public-safety agencies may gain more timely access to location data to rescue or assist people in danger, but oversight and safeguards depend on how recordkeeping and definitions are implemented. The conforming amendment to 18 U.S.C. 2707(a) is unspecified in the provided text, so any downstream changes to statutory remedies, penalties, or private rights of action cannot be assessed based on the excerpt.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.