Federal:
Bills promoting open access to federally funded research and electronic communications privacy have been introduced in Congress. Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act, or FASTR, H.R. 3427, would provide public access to research published from every federal agency that significantly funds research. This bill strengthens and expands previous legislation, requiring online access be made available more quickly. In the Senate, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Modernization Act of 2017 would require a warrant for authorities to access emails, geo-location information in cell phones, documents in the cloud, and other electronic communication records. This bill builds on the Email Privacy Act, H.R. 387, passed in the House earlier this year.
More on FASTR and the ECPA Modernization Act of 2017 is available from the District Dispatch.