Bill would bar government 'reverse keyword' searches, with narrow exception for violent felonies

Senator Pinkney described House Amendment 1 / Senate Substitute 1 for House Bill 145, which would update Delaware law to address 'reverse keyword' searches — requests by government that ask for identities of everyone who searched a particular word, phrase or website rather than targeting a specific suspect. The bill would prohibit government entities from requesting or obtaining reverse‑keyword orders or voluntary reverse‑keyword requests and would prevent Delaware courts from issuing or enforcing such orders.

The legislation creates a narrow exception for investigations of class A violent felonies: a reverse‑keyword order may be sought only under strict implementation, and only if the search returns five or fewer results may identifying information be produced. If more than five results are returned, the government may be told only how many matches were found and must show cause before seeking additional information. The bill also provides that evidence obtained in violation of the provisions is inadmissible, requires notification to affected individuals of violations, and requires deletion of unlawfully obtained data.

No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.