Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would standardize the way the government handles email for law enforcement needs.

• The bill would require law enforcement to obtain warrants to search email stored on remote servers.

• The bill would also update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Dive Insight:

According to a spokesperson for Utah Republican Mike Lee, the bill’s sponsor, the measure will get a markup in the Judiciary Committee when Congress returns from its summer recess.

Currently, email providers can release the contents of communications stored in cloud email accounts or other remote storage facilities for longer than six months to law enforcement officials without a warrant. But the 1986 law was written before the advent of cloud computing.

Reps. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) are pushing a companion measure on the House side that has attracted 292 cosponsors.

The handling of email has garnered more attention lately as the result of the Hilary Clinton email scandal. Companies that use cloud should keep a close eye on this bill, as it could change corporate email rights and responsibilities.