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August 4, 1999
To protect the privacy, security and safety of the people of the United States through support for the widespread use of encryption, protection of the security of cryptographic keys, and facilitation of access to the plaintext of data for legitimate law enforcement purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
TITLE I - GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "Cyberspace Electronic Security Act of 1999".
SEC. 102. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(a) The development of the information superhighway is fundamentally changing the way we interact. The nation's commerce is moving to networking. Individuals, government entities, and other institutions are communicating across common links.
(b) The Internet has provided our society with a glimpse of what is possible in the information age, and the demand for information access and electronic commerce is rapidly increasing. This demand is arising from all elements of society, including individuals, banks, manufacturers, online merchants, service providers, State and local governments, and educational institutions.
(c) At the same time, society's increasing reliance on information systems in this new environment exposes U.S. citizens, institutions, and their information to unprecedented risks.
(d) In order for the global information infrastructure and electronic commerce to achieve their potential, information systems must overcome these risks and must provide trusted methods to identify users and keep data and communications confidential.
(e) Cryptography can meet these needs. In particular, cryptography, through the technique of encryption, is an important tool in protecting the confidentiality of wire and electronic communications and stored data. Thus, there is a national need to encourage the development, adoption, and use of cryptographic products that are consistent with the foregoing considerations and are appropriate for use by private parties and by the United States Government.
(f) While encryption is an important tool for protecting the privacy of legitimate communications and stored data, it has also been used to facilitate and hide unlawful activity by terrorists, drug traffickers, child pornographers, and other criminals.
(g) The advent and eventual widespread use of encryption poses significant and heretofore unseen challenges to law enforcement and public safety. While under existing law, both statutory and constitutional in nature, law enforcement is provided with different means to collect evidence of illegal activity - in the form of communications, stored data on computers, etc. - these means are rendered wholly insufficient when encryption is utilized to scramble the information in such a manner that law enforcement, acting pursuant to lawful authority, cannot decipher the evidence.
(h) Technology does not presently exist that allows law enforcement timely
to decrypt such information. In the context of law enforcement operations,
for example, stopping a terrorist attack or seeking to recover a kidnaped
child, time is of the essence and may mean the difference between success
and catastrophic failure. While: existing means of obtaining evidence would
remain applicable in a fully-encrypted world, the failure to provide law
enforcement with the necessary ability to obtain the plaintext, or
decrypted "readable" version, of the evidence makes
existing authorities useless.
(i) A sound and effective public policy must support the development and use of encryption for legitimate purposes but allow access to plaintext by law enforcement when encryption is utilized by criminals. Law enforcement entities have a critical need to decrypt communications and stored data that they are lawfully authorized to access in order to obtain the plaintext that is necessary to conduct investigations and prosecutions of such unlawful activity, and there is a compelling national interest in preserving law enforcement entities' ability to obtain such plaintext. Appropriate means must be available to fulfill these law enforcement objectives, consistent with existing legal authorities and constitutional principles, in order to protect public safety. This requires an approach which properly balances critical privacy interests with the need to preserve public safety.
(j) While means to aid investigators' and prosecutors' efforts to obtain plaintext are needed, this Act is not intended to make it unlawful for any person to use encryption in the United States for otherwise lawful purposes, regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, key length chosen, or implementation technique or medium used. Similarly, this Act is not intended to require anyone to use third parties for storage of decryption keys, and this Act does not establish any regulatory regime for entities engaging in such an activity. Finally, this Act is not intended to affect export controls on cryptographic products.
TITLE II - ACCESS TO AND USE OF STORED RECOVERY INFORMATION HELD BY RECOVERY AGENTS, ACCESS TO RECOVERY INFORMATION, AND PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
SEC. 201. REDESIGNATION OF DEFINITIONAL SECTION.
Section 2711 of title 18, United States Code, is redesignated as section 2719.
SEC. 202. AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 2703 AND 2707 OF TITLE 18.
(a) Subsection 2703(d) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking "described in section 3127(2)(A) and".
(b) Section 2707 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(2) in subsection (e)
(ii) inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
(iii) in redesignated paragraph (e)(3), striking "section 2518(7)" and inserting "sections 2518(7) or 2712(a)(4)".
SEC. 203. AMENDMENTS OF CHAPTER 121 OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, RELATED TO RECOVERY INFORMATION.
Chapter 121 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding the following after section 2710:
"§ 2711. Disclosure or use of stored recovery information and customer information by recovery agents; notification of storage location
"(A) disclose stored recovery information;
"(B) use stored recovery information to decrypt data or communications;
or
"(C) disclose any other information or record that identifies a person or entity for whom the recovery agent holds or has held stored recovery information.
"(2) No person or entity shall knowingly obtain stored recovery information from a recovery agent knowing or having reason to know he has no lawful authority to do so.
"(3) A recovery agent shall inform any person or entity who stores recovery information with the recovery agent of the location or locations where the recovery information is stored. "
"(b) Authorizations for disclosure or use.-
(1) Recovery information.-A recovery agent may disclose stored recovery
information, or use stored recovery information to decrypt data or
communications,
only-
"(A) in the case of disclosure to or use on behalf of any person or entity, including a governmental entity-
"(i) with the consent of the person or entity who stored such recovery information, or the agent of such person or entity; or
"(ii) pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, if
such court has found that another person or entity is legally entitled
pursuant to generally applicable law to receive, possess, or use such
recovery information and has, if practicable, provided th6 person or entity
who has stored the recovery information with an opportunity to be heard;
or
"(2) Customer information. -- A recovery agent may disclose information or a record, other than stored recovery information, that identifies a person or entity for whom the recovery agent holds or has held stored recovery information only-
"(B) if the disclosure is necessarily incident to the rendition of the service provided to the person or entity who has stored such recovery information, or to the protection of the rights or property of the recovery agent;
"(C) pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction based upon a showing of compelling need for the information, if such court has, if practicable, provided the person or entity who has stored such recovery information with an opportunity to be heard; or
"(D) to a governmental entity pursuant to a warrant issued pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or equivalent State warrant, a court order, or a federal or State subpoena; provided, however, that notice to the person or entity who stored such recovery information is not required under this subparagraph, and, furthermore, that a court of competent jurisdiction may for good cause order that the recovery agent not disclose the government request for 90 days, which period maybe extended upon further showings of good cause.
"(c) Confidentiality -- Except as otherwise provided by law, or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, a recovery agent who is requested or ordered to disclose stored recovery information to, or to use stored recovery information on behalf of, a governmental entity pursuant to paragraph (b)(1) above shall not reveal to any person or entity the fact that the governmental entity has requested or received stored recovery information from, or has required the use of stored recovery information by, the recovery agent, and shall not disclose to any other person or entity any decrypted data or communications that are provided to the governmental entity.
"(d) Exclusions.-Nothing in this section or section 2712 of this title shall be construed to prohibit a recovery agent from:
"(2) using or disclosing recovery information that is not stored recovery information held by it under the circumstances described in section 2719(7); or
"(3) using stored recovery information in its possession, custody, or control to decrypt data or communications in its possession, custody, or control, if applicable statutes, regulations, or other legal authorities otherwise require the recovery agent to provide such data or communications to a governmental entity in plaintext or other form which can be readily understood by the governmental entity.
"§ 2712. Requirements for governmental access to, use of, and disclosure of stored recovery information
"(1) pursuant to a warrant issued pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or an equivalent State warrant, or an order issued under section 2518 of this title;
"(2) pursuant to any process under federal or State law to compel disclosure that is permitted by section 2711 (b)(1)(A)(i);
"(3) pursuant to a court order issued under subsection (b); or
"(4) when an investigative or law enforcement officer, specially designated by the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, any Assistant Attorney General, any acting Assistant Attorney General, or any Deputy Assistant Attorney General, or by the principal prosecuting attorney of any State or subdivision thereof acting pursuant to a statute of that State, reasonably determines that-"
"(ii) conspiratorial activities threatening the national security interest, or
"(iii) conspiratorial activities characteristic of organized crime or terrorism, requiring that recovery information be obtained or used before an order authorizing the same can, with due diligence, be obtained; and
but an order under this section must be sought within forty-eight hours after the stored recovery information has been released or the decryption has occurred. In the event no order is requested within that time or the request for an order is denied, the governmental entity shall not further use or disclose the recovery information received or plaintext recovered, shall seal such information or plaintext under the direction of a court of competent jurisdiction, and shall serve notice as provided for in subsection (c) of this section;
A federal governmental entity may require a recovery agent to disclose stored recovery information to it or another federal governmental entity, or to use stored recovery information to decrypt data or communications, under paragraphs (1), (2), (3), or (4) for the benefit of a foreign government, pursuant to a request of a foreign government under applicable legislation, treaties, or other international agreements.
"(b) Requirements for court order for disclosure or use of stored recovery information by a recovery agent.-A court order requiring a recovery agent to disclose stored recovery information to a governmental entity or to use stored recovery information to decrypt data or communications on behalf of a governmental entity shall be issued by a court of competent jurisdiction upon a finding, based on specific and articulable facts, that-
"(1) the use of the stored recovery information is reasonably necessary to allow access to the plaintext of data or communications;
"(2) such access is otherwise lawful;
"(3) the governmental entity will seek such access within a reasonable time; and
"(4) there is no constitutionally protected expectation of privacy in such plaintext, or the privacy interest created by such expectation has been overcome by consent, warrant order, or other authority.
An order under this section directing the disclosure of stored recovery information shall be limited to the extent practicable to directing the disclosure of only that stored recovery information that is necessary to allow access to the plaintext of the relevant data and communications.
"(c) Notice.- Within 90 days after receiving stored recovery information or decrypted data or communications from a recovery agent, the governmental entity shall notify the person or entity, if known, who stored the recovery information that stored recovery information was disclosed or used by the recovery agent, and such notice shall state the date on which the stored recovery information or decrypted data and communications were disclosed. On the government's ex parte showing of good cause, the giving of notice may be postponed by a court of competent jurisdiction. Notice under this section shall be provided by personal service, or by delivery by registered or first-class mail.
"(d) Cost reimbursement.-A governmental entity obtaining stored recovery information from a recovery agent or directing a recovery agent to decrypt the data or communications pursuant to subsection (b) shall pay to the recovery agent a fee for reimbursement for such costs as are reasonably necessary and which have been directly incurred in providing such information or decrypting such data and communications. The amount of the fee shall be as mutually agreed by the governmental entity and the recovery agent, or, in the absence of agreement, shall be as determined by the court which issued the order pursuant to subsection (b).
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