Feinstein, Lee Introduce Due Process Guarantee Act
Jan 7, 2015
Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) today introduced the Due Process Guarantee Act, a bill to protect Americans from being detained indefinitely, without charge or trial.
RELEASE: Lee & Durbin: According to CBO, Smarter Sentencing Bill Would Reduce Prison Costs by More Than $4 Billion
Sep 15, 2014
Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) announced today that their bill tomodernize nonviolent drug sentencing policies would reduce prison costs in America by $4.36 billion over 10 years, according to a new report compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Riley v. California
Jun 25, 2014
Today, in Riley v. California, the Supreme Court by a 9-0 vote ruled that police officers may not search the data on cell phones seized incident to an arrest. While law enforcement officers may hold a phone seized at the time of arrest, they must get a warrant before accessing the content stored on the phone, including text messages, photos, and emails.
In the opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that a 16-gigabyte cell phone can hold “millions of pages of text, thousands of pictures, or hundreds of videos,” and that such a large amount of data in such varied formats presents significant consequences for privacy. These concerns are magnified in the context of the limitless storage capacity of email and cloud computing, an area where law enforcement is able to access content older than 180 days without a warrant.
I believe the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision demonstrates the shift in the expectations of privacy we have for our digital information. This case underscores the need to extend similar protection to the information we store in our email and in the cloud. The Leahy-Lee ECPA Amendments Act, S. 607, would require that the government get a warrant to access documents and content we store in the cloud and in our email accounts, eliminating the antiquated 180-day rule.
The ECPA Amendments Act was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote and awaits consideration on the Senate floor.
In the opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts noted that a 16-gigabyte cell phone can hold “millions of pages of text, thousands of pictures, or hundreds of videos,” and that such a large amount of data in such varied formats presents significant consequences for privacy. These concerns are magnified in the context of the limitless storage capacity of email and cloud computing, an area where law enforcement is able to access content older than 180 days without a warrant.
I believe the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision demonstrates the shift in the expectations of privacy we have for our digital information. This case underscores the need to extend similar protection to the information we store in our email and in the cloud. The Leahy-Lee ECPA Amendments Act, S. 607, would require that the government get a warrant to access documents and content we store in the cloud and in our email accounts, eliminating the antiquated 180-day rule.
The ECPA Amendments Act was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote and awaits consideration on the Senate floor.
Klobuchar, Lee Call for Review of AT&T’s Proposed Acquisition of DirectTV
May 23, 2014
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) today sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding AT&T’s proposed acquisition of DirectTV. In the letter, the Senators urged the DOJ and FCC to assess the impact that the proposed merger could have on consumers, including price, choice, and quality of service. Klobuchar, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, and Lee, the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee, will hold a hearing to examine the potential acquisition this summer.
“This proposed transaction would result in additional consolidation in the market for pay television and may impact consumer welfare in that market and other markets in which the companies operate,” the Senators said in the letter. “As always, the key to analyzing any merger should be the effect it will have on consumers, including price, choice, quality of service, and innovation.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Assistant Attorney General Baer and Chairman Wheeler:
As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, we write regarding AT&T’s proposed acquisition of DirecTV. This proposed transaction would result in additional consolidation in the market for pay television and may impact consumer welfare in that market and other markets in which the companies operate. For example, the companies currently compete with each other in 25 percent of the country, including in 10 of the top 20 markets. In addition, this merger, taken together with the recently announced merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, could potentially affect future innovation and technological advances, including the availability of online video distribution.
AT&T and DirecTV state that their merger will create a “competitive alternative to cable for consumers wanting a better bundle of top-quality broadband, video and mobile services, as well as a better customer experience and enhanced innovation.” The companies further state that increased scale will allow the merged entity to realize cost synergies.
As you review this transaction, we believe it is important to validate and weigh these efficiencies against the potential competitive harms that could result from the transaction. As always, the key to analyzing any merger should be the effect it will have on consumers, including price, choice, quality of service, and innovation.
We plan to hold a Subcommittee hearing this summer to examine the important issues raised by this proposed merger and will follow up with you based on the evidence and testimony reviewed during that process. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
“This proposed transaction would result in additional consolidation in the market for pay television and may impact consumer welfare in that market and other markets in which the companies operate,” the Senators said in the letter. “As always, the key to analyzing any merger should be the effect it will have on consumers, including price, choice, quality of service, and innovation.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Assistant Attorney General Baer and Chairman Wheeler:
As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, we write regarding AT&T’s proposed acquisition of DirecTV. This proposed transaction would result in additional consolidation in the market for pay television and may impact consumer welfare in that market and other markets in which the companies operate. For example, the companies currently compete with each other in 25 percent of the country, including in 10 of the top 20 markets. In addition, this merger, taken together with the recently announced merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, could potentially affect future innovation and technological advances, including the availability of online video distribution.
AT&T and DirecTV state that their merger will create a “competitive alternative to cable for consumers wanting a better bundle of top-quality broadband, video and mobile services, as well as a better customer experience and enhanced innovation.” The companies further state that increased scale will allow the merged entity to realize cost synergies.
As you review this transaction, we believe it is important to validate and weigh these efficiencies against the potential competitive harms that could result from the transaction. As always, the key to analyzing any merger should be the effect it will have on consumers, including price, choice, quality of service, and innovation.
We plan to hold a Subcommittee hearing this summer to examine the important issues raised by this proposed merger and will follow up with you based on the evidence and testimony reviewed during that process. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Klobuchar, Lee Statements on AT&T-DirecTV Merger
May 19, 2014
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) today released the following statements regarding the AT&T-DirecTV merger. Klobuchar is chair and Lee is ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights.
“AT&T's proposed acquisition of DirecTV is yet another merger that has the potential to dramatically change the television market,” Klobuchar said. “As chair of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, I will hold a hearing to examine the effect this merger would have on competition, innovation, and the prices, choices, and service offered to consumers across the country.”
“The announcement of an additional merger in the telecommunications and media industry raises concerns about the level of consolidation in these markets,” Lee said. “At the same time, consolidation can benefit consumers in some circumstances. I look forward to carefully reviewing the evidence and examining the effect this transaction may have on consumer welfare.”
“AT&T's proposed acquisition of DirecTV is yet another merger that has the potential to dramatically change the television market,” Klobuchar said. “As chair of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, I will hold a hearing to examine the effect this merger would have on competition, innovation, and the prices, choices, and service offered to consumers across the country.”
“The announcement of an additional merger in the telecommunications and media industry raises concerns about the level of consolidation in these markets,” Lee said. “At the same time, consolidation can benefit consumers in some circumstances. I look forward to carefully reviewing the evidence and examining the effect this transaction may have on consumer welfare.”
Criminal Law and the Administrative State: Defining and Enforcing Regulatory Crimes
May 14, 2014
In an influential law review article, the late Professor Bill Stuntz noted the academic consensus lamenting criminal law’s constantly expanding breadth. Professor Stuntz wrote that virtually all scholarship in the field “consistently argues that existing criminal liability rules are too broad and ought to be narrowed.” But, Professor Stuntz continued ominously,
Lee’s Opening Statement at Comcast-Time Warner Hearing
Apr 9, 2014
Today Senator Mike Lee delivered the following opening statement in the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Hearing on the Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger.
Graham, Lee, Ayotte, Feinstein Introduce Bill to Prohibit Online Gambling
Mar 26, 2014
Today, I joined Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to introduce the Restoration Of America’s Wire Act
In 2011, the Department of Justice released a legal opinion regarding Internet gambling that abruptly reversed the position it held for fifty years and undercut laws Congress passed relying upon the DOJ’s legal views. Overnight, we went from a nation in which all gambling on the Internet was illegal under federal law to one in which states could authorize almost any and every form of gambling on the Internet that they choose.
It is time to step in and fix the damage done to the Wire Act and allow Congress, the states, law enforcement, and the public an opportunity to fully review, assess, understand, and debate the significant policy implications entailed in the spread of Internet gambling.
Summary of Provisions:
- Section 1 – short title.
- Section 2 – removes from the Wire Act the phrase “sporting event or contest,” adds definitions to some of the terms found in the Wire Act.
Explanation of Section 2:
- The Wire Act uses the phrase “sporting event or contest” in one clause, but not in another. While DOJ had always interpreted the Wire Act to ban all online gaming, the 2011 reversal – finding that it only prohibited sports betting - was predicated in part on the use of this phrase in only part of the Act. Our bill will remove any ambiguity as to what form of online gambling the Wire Act applies to, and restore its longstanding interpretation.
- Among the definitions, this bill exempts from the definition of “bet or wager” certain non-gambling activities to mirror the exemptions found in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA); things such as, e.g., securities transactions, insurance contracts, bank transaction, and certain fantasy sports. This bill also makes clear that using a “wire communication facility” for gambling, includes using the Internet.
- Section 3 – construction clause.
Explanation of Section 3:
- Finally, we include a construction clause to clarify that our legislation does not alter, limit, or extend the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978; in-person, state licensed retail lottery sales; or state charitable gaming laws.
In addition, I also sent the following letter to the Utah Attorney General in response to a request he made on the DOJ’s legal opinion regarding online gambling:
Sen. Lee Responds to Letter Requesting Review of Wire Act Interpretation
Lee, Tester Introduce Bill to Ensure Proper Investigations at DOJ
Mar 13, 2014
Today, Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) introduced legislation to increase transparency and accountability at the Department of Justice. The Inspector General Empowerment Act would eliminate a problem in the law that requires allegations of attorney misconduct at DOJ to be investigated by an agency that reports directly to the Attorney General rather than the autonomous Office of the Inspector General.
A Conversation On Criminal Justice
Feb 11, 2014
Criminal justice reform is not so much about letting people out as it is bringing people in; to craft policies to help reformed offenders and their families fully participate in our society and economy, and to help build an America that gives them the opportunities we would want for ourselves.
