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.
