NDO Fairness Act
House Committee Reviews NDO Fairness Act to Limit Secret Gag Orders on Your Online Data
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Would tighten the rules for when the government can order an internet or cloud company not to tell you about a warrant, court order, or subpoena for your data.
- Sets time limits: up to 90 days for most cases, and up to 1 year in certain child-exploitation investigations if the government reports key changes to the court.
- Requires judges to make a written, fact-based decision in most cases, and to choose the least restrictive option (like notifying a lawyer) when it won’t harm the investigation.
- Gives companies a clearer path to challenge these secrecy orders in court, and pauses the company’s duty to hand over the data while the challenge is decided (unless a judge lifts the pause).
- After the secrecy order ends, the government must notify the person within 5 business days using at least two methods and, if requested within 180 days, provide a copy of what was disclosed (with limited exceptions).
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
The committee approved this bill and is sending it to the full chamber for a vote. This is a significant step — most bills never get this far.
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
3 articlesHouse passes bill to limit government’s use of secret data requests
The House passed the NDO Fairness Act, which aims to limit the government's ability to issue 'gag orders' that prevent tech companies from notifying users when their data is being subpoenaed. The bill requires a written determination from a judge to justify the secrecy.
House Passes Bill to Curb Secret Government Data Requests
The House of Representatives passed the NDO Fairness Act, a bipartisan bill that would limit the government’s ability to issue secret subpoenas for user data from tech companies. The legislation seeks to end the routine use of indefinite non-disclosure orders.
House Passes Bill to Limit Secret Data Requests to Tech Firms
The NDO Fairness Act would require a judge to issue a written determination that a non-disclosure order is necessary to prevent a 'statutorily enumerated harm.' It also sets a 90-day limit on most gag orders, with specific extensions allowed for child exploitation cases.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
NDO Fairness Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.