WASHINGTON, DC — February 27, 2015 —

BSA | The Software Alliance today welcomed House introduction of the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act (the “LEADS Act”). The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), aims to better balance privacy concerns and government access to data by modernizing the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

“The LEADS Act strikes the right balance between user protections and public safety needs. This proposal makes important updates to ECPA – outdated legislation first passed nearly three decades ago. It clearly outlines privacy rights while giving law enforcement the ability to properly pursue international investigations without causing the spread of data localization policies,” said BSA President & CEO Victoria Espinel. “We commend Representatives Marino and DelBene for their bipartisan leadership and look forward to working with leaders in both the House and Senate to pass this legislation.”

The LEADS Act, introduced earlier this month in the Senate by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), would require law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to access electronic communications and other content stored online, and create a framework to enable law enforcement access to Americans’ data held overseas. The bill would also improve the system by which international law enforcement requests for data are processed.