H.R. 4639 would prohibit law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing personal information about customers or subscribers of electronic and remote computing service providers (for example, social media, cell phone, email, and cloud-computing companies) from a third party. Current law prohibits those entities from disclosing such information, which includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and location, directly to government agencies without a court order. However, those companies are permitted to voluntarily disclose such information to third parties, which can then provide it to the government. H.R. 4639 would require a law enforcement or intelligence agency to obtain a court order before acquiring customer or subscriber information from a third party. Under the bill, any information purchased from a third party would be inadmissible as evidence in court.
