House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) has proposed a substitute amendment to the Email Privacy Act ahead of the panel’s markup of the bill on Wednesday, The Hill newspaper reported Monday.
Mario Trujillo writes the bill would update the decades-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act and requires law enforcement personnel to obtain a warrant before they compel a technology company to hand over the content of customer emails or other stored electronic messages.
The report said Goodlatte’s amendment calls for the removal of a provision that would mandate agencies to notify a target of a governmental investigation when they issue warrant for personal electronic communications to a provider.
He said at a congressional hearing in December that he believes the provision will restrict the investigative powers of Congress, according to Trujillo’s article.