NDO Fairness Act
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Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Overview
The NDO Fairness Act aims to increase transparency and oversight of the government’s use of nondisclosure orders (NDOs) under the Stored Communications Act. It requires courts to provide more detailed justifications for granting NDOs, limits their duration to 90 days (with exceptions for child exploitation cases), and mandates the Department of Justice to annually report on NDO activity, including the number of individuals affected and the types of investigations involved. The bill also strengthens the process for obtaining and extending NDOs, emphasizing narrowly tailored orders and providing greater protections for individuals subject to them.
Key provisions
- Requires courts to issue written determinations justifying NDOs, including specific and articulable facts.
- Limits the duration of most NDOs to 90 days, with a one-year maximum for investigations involving child pornography.
- Mandates an annual report from the Department of Justice detailing NDO activity.
- Requires NDOs to be narrowly tailored and consider less restrictive alternatives.
- Establishes a process for providers to challenge NDOs.
- Allows for extensions of NDOs only upon a new written determination from the court.
- Requires notification to affected individuals upon expiration of an NDO.
- Provides for redaction of information disclosed under NDOs to protect ongoing investigations.
Who is affected
- Governmental entities (specifically, the Department of Justice)
Bill text
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Sponsors
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2 on record
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