Warrant for Metadata Act
The Warrant for Metadata Act would tighten government access to records held by electronic communications service providers (ECS) and remote computing service providers (RCS). It changes 18 U.S.C. 2703 to require a court-issued warrant for the disclosure of metadata and other non-content information about a subscriber or customer, aligning such disclosures with the rules used for traditional criminal warrants. It defines metadata using the existing definition from Title 44, section 3502, and removes the previous 180-day-storage carve-out that allowed non-warrant requests for certain contents. The bill also clarifies how disclosures initiation after enactment should be treated—pre-enactment disclosures aren’t retroactively altered, but any related or expanded requests after enactment are treated as new disclosures under the amended statute.
Key Points
- 1Warrant requirement for metadata and related information: Metadata (as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502) and other subscriber/customer information may be obtained from providers only with a warrant issued under federal or state warrant procedures (and appropriate military procedures where applicable).
- 2Removal of the 180-day contents rule: The bill strikes the provision that previously allowed certain contents disclosures after 180 days without a warrant, moving toward warrant-based access in all cases.
- 3Scope includes both ECS and RCS providers: Applies to records held by providers of electronic communications services and remote computing services.
- 4Warrant procedures: Warrants must be issued via the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or state equivalents, with appropriate military provisions and regulations as applicable) and by a court of competent jurisdiction.
- 5Retroactive and future disclosures: The amendment has a specific retroactive effect—pre-enactment disclosures under the old regime aren’t changed by the new law. However, any subsequent or expanded disclosures related to pre-enactment disclosures made after enactment will be treated as new disclosures under the amended law.