H.R. 5524 · 117th Congress
Protecting Data at the Border Act
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
LieuSponsor4 cosponsors · 4 D
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill limits government access to digital information at the border.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Oct 8, 2021
Protecting Data at the Border Act
This bill limits government access to digital information at the border.
A governmental entity may not (1) access the digital contents of electronic equipment of a U.S. person at the border without a warrant, (2) deny such a person's entry into or exit from the United States because the person refused to provide access to digital content on electronic equipment or online account information, (3) delay such a person's entry or exit for more than four hours to determine whether the person will consent to providing access to online information, or (4) seize electronic equipment from a U.S. person without probable cause to believe that such equipment contains information relevant to a felony.
A governmental entity may access the contents of electronic equipment of a U.S. person without a warrant in an emergency. The entity must subsequently apply for a warrant within seven days, and if a warrant is not granted, the seized information must be destroyed and may not be disclosed.
A governmental entity may not make or retain a copy of information accessed under this bill without probable cause to believe that such information relates to a crime.
Information seized in violation of this bill (1) must be destroyed, (2) may not be disclosed, and (3) may not be received in evidence in any trial or government proceeding.
A governmental entity shall keep a record of each instance in which it obtains access to an individual's digital information at the border.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Protecting Data at the Border Act
Latest action (Nov 1, 2022): Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Policy area: Immigration · Origin: House · Introduced: Oct 8, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.