[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 165 (Thursday, December 20, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8320-S8321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 OBTAINING A CONSUMER'S INFORMED, WRITTEN CONSENT ON AN ONGOING BASIS 
                          THROUGH THE INTERNET

  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of H.R. 6671 which was received from the House and is at 
the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 6671) to amend section 2710 of title 18, 
     United States Code, to clarify that a video tape service 
     provider may obtain a consumer's informed, written consent on 
     an ongoing basis and that consent may be obtained through the 
     Internet.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, we are enacting legislation to update the 
Video Privacy Protection Act, VPPA, in order to permit the ongoing 
sharing of video viewing information via the Internet. This bill 
contains important digital privacy provisions that I authored in the 
Senate to ensure consumer control over video viewing information.
  During my more than three decades in the Senate, I have worked to 
protect the privacy rights of American consumers. In doing so, I have 
joined with Democrats and Republicans alike to help guarantee the right 
to privacy for every citizen. Last month, the Judiciary Committee 
favorably reported legislation that included these video privacy 
updates with strong bipartisan support. I commend Senator Franken for 
his exceptional work on this measure as the chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Privacy and the Law. He held

[[Page S8321]]

the hearings and helped the committee to develop the proposal contained 
in this bill.
  I congratulate Representative Goodlatte for his work on this bill. He 
began the effort in the House to update the VPPA and has worked with me 
to reach this final product. I look forward to working with him to 
update another critical digital privacy law, the Electronic 
Communications Privacy Act, ECPA, in the new year. The Senate Judiciary 
Committee reported a good proposal to ensure a warrant requirement for 
e-mails and we should move forward quickly to enact it.
  The bill we enact today takes several important steps to accommodate 
new technologies, like video streaming and social networking, while 
also helping to protect digital privacy rights in cyberspace. First, 
the bill updates the Video Privacy Protection Act to keep pace with how 
most Americans view and share videos today--on the Internet. This bill 
will allow American consumers, if they wish, to share their movie and 
television watching experiences through social media, while also 
ensuring that the important privacy protections in this law are not 
diminished.
  Second, to protect the privacy of American consumers, the bill 
retains key privacy protections already in the VPPA which require that 
consumers ``opt-in'' to the sharing of their video viewing information. 
The bill similarly retains the requirement in current law that 
consumers provide informed written consent to share video viewing 
information. Moreover, to ensure that consumers have control over their 
own video viewing data, the bill provides that consumers may ``opt-in'' 
to the information sharing on an ongoing basis for a period of up to 2 
years at a time. Consumers may ``opt-out'' of the information sharing 
at any time.
  Lastly, the bill requires that the opportunity for a consumer to 
withdraw consent to the disclosure of video viewing information must be 
presented in a clear and conspicuous manner. This provision requires a 
video tape service provider to provide one of two opportunities for the 
consumer to withdraw consent: on a case-by-case--i.e., per title--
basis, or to withdraw consent for ongoing disclosures. The bill does 
not, however, specify where on a Web site, or in what form, the 
opportunity to withdraw consent should be provided.
  Like many Americans, I am concerned about the growing and unwelcome 
government intrusions into our private lives in cyber space. Last 
month, the Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly passed my legislative 
proposal to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, ECPA, to 
require a search warrant in order for the government to obtain our e-
mail and other electronic communications stored with third-party 
service providers. When we worked to enact ECPA in 1986, no one could 
have imagined the way the Internet and mobile technologies would 
transform how we communicate and exchange information today. But, after 
three decades, this critical privacy law has been outpaced by the 
explosion of new technologies and the expansion of the government's 
surveillance powers.
  My Electronic Communications Privacy Act updates would revive and 
enhance the privacy protections afforded to Americans' e-mails and 
other electronic communications by establishing a warrant requirement 
for all e-mail content when stored with a third-party service provider 
or ``in the cloud.'' There are limited exceptions to this requirement 
under current law. I have worked to make certain that these updates 
carefully balance privacy interests, the needs of law enforcement, and 
the interest of our thriving American tech sector.
  When the Congress enacted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act 
in 1986, we did so with strong, bipartisan support. Today, we continue 
that long and proud tradition of coming together across Chamber and 
party affiliation by enacting this update to the VPPA. My legislative 
reforms to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act are likewise 
deserving of such broad and bipartisan support. I urge us to join 
together in the Congress to enact these important privacy updates 
without delay.
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times 
and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no 
intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 6671) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.

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