SenateS. 4594119th Congress
Subpoena Abuse Prevention Act
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4594 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4594
To amend section 2703 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit
certain use of administrative subpoenas with respect to customer
communications and records, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 20, 2026
Mr. Wyden (for himself and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 2703 of title 18, United States Code, to prohibit
certain use of administrative subpoenas with respect to customer
communications and records, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Subpoena Abuse Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. REFORMING SUBPOENAS.
(a) Consistent Protections for Phone and App-Based Call and Texting
Records.--Section 2703(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by striking subparagraph (C); and
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (D), (E), and (F) as
subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively.
(b) Prohibiting the Use of Subpoenas for Bulk Collection of Certain
Subscriber Information.--Section 2703(c)(2) of title 18, United States
Code, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the matter
following subparagraph (E), as so redesignated, by inserting ``,
provided that for any administrative, grand jury, or trial subpoena,
the governmental entity identifies the subscriber or customer by name,
address, temporarily assigned network address, or account identifier
(such as a username)'' before the period at the end.
(c) Prohibiting the Use of Subpoenas With a Purpose To Investigate
Constitutionally Protected Activities.--Section 2703(c) of title 18,
United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(4) Protections for constitutionally protected
activities.--
``(A) In general.--A governmental entity may not
use a subpoena to require the disclosures described in
paragraph (2) if a purpose of the subpoena is to--
``(i) investigate, monitor, or otherwise
acquire information about activities, or any
person's engagement in activities, that are
exercises of free speech, press, religion,
assembly, or petition, or are otherwise
protected by the Constitution of the United
States; or
``(ii) retaliate against any person for
their engagement in activities that are
exercises of free speech, press, religion,
assembly, or petition, or are otherwise
protected by the Constitution of the United
States.
``(B) Required certification.--
``(i) In general.--A governmental entity
using a subpoena to require the disclosures
described in paragraph (2) from a service
provider shall provide a certification under
penalty of perjury attesting that the subpoena
is being made for a legitimate and lawful
purpose, and not with a purpose described in
subparagraph (A)--
``(I) to the service provider; and
``(II) when applying for a
preclusion of notice order under
section 2705(b), to the court in such
application.
``(ii) Absence of certification.--A
subpoena to require the disclosures described
in paragraph (2) from a service provider shall
not be valid, and a preclusion of notice order
under section 2705(b) for such subpoena shall
not issue, unless the subpoena includes the
certification described in clause (i).''.
(d) Required Disclosures.--Section 2703(c) of title 18, United
States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Required disclosures to service provider.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B)--
``(i) the service provider--
``(I) may notify a customer or
subscriber of the receipt of the
subpoena; and
``(II) may consult with an attorney
in order to obtain legal advice or
assistance regarding the subpoena; and
``(ii) the government entity shall inform
the service provider that it--
``(I) is not being directed to not
notify any other person of the
existence of the subpoena;
``(II) may notify the customer or
subscriber of the receipt of the
subpoena; and
``(III) may consult with an
attorney in order to obtain legal
advice or assistance regarding the
subpoena.
``(B) Exception for nondisclosure orders.--If a
governmental entity described in subparagraph (A)
obtains a preclusion of notice order under section
2705(b)--
``(i) such order may limit the right of the
service provider described in subparagraph
(A)(i)(I); and
``(ii) the governmental entity shall modify
the required disclosures described in
subclauses (I) and (II) of subparagraph (A)(ii)
to be consistent with the terms of the
order.''.
(e) Public Reporting of Use of Administrative Subpoenas.--Section
2703(c) of title 18, United States Code, is further amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(6) Reporting of federal use of administrative
subpoenas.--Each Federal governmental entity that uses an
administrative subpoena to require the disclosure of
information under this subsection shall annually publicly
publish a report containing, for the 1-year period preceding
the date of the report--
``(A) the number of administrative subpoenas issued
by the governmental entity, disaggregated by the
statutory authority under which the administrative
subpoenas were issued; and
``(B) the number of accounts for which the
governmental entity received information through an
administrative subpoena, disaggregated by the statutory
authority under which the administrative subpoenas were
issued.''.
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