Critics have pointed out that the law could allow mission creep into less serious offenses, such as copyright infringement, despite promises that compelled assistance requests are signed off by two senior government officials.
The law requires judges to sign off police requests to view journalists' call and web records, but the measure has been described as "a death sentence for investigative journalism" in the UK.
Former detective superintendent Bob Helm, who had the authority to sign off Ripa requests for covert surveillance during 31 years of service with Lancashire Constabulary, said: "It's all very well placed in terms of legislation … when you can and can't do it.
Among the proposals is a plan to restrict the power for senior police officers to self-authorise access to people's phone and web browsing records to investigations of crimes that carry a prison sentence of at least six months; and the creation of a new body to authorize requests for communications data, i.e. rather than letting police officers or senior civil servants sign off on such requests.
In other government surveillance programs, like wiretaps, a federal judge must sign off on the requests.
The government has rebutted attempts to criticize the scope of surveillance powers enabled by the legislation by arguing that the bill provides for a "double lock" authorization process for intercept warrants, meaning a senior minister and a judge are both required to sign off on surveillance requests.
Court records later showed that Lloyd had instituted a policy that required him to personally sign off on any request for abortion made by a minor in the Office of Refugee Resettlement's care.
And he's made no secret of his anti-abortion beliefs: Not only has he spent much of his career advocating against abortion, but Lloyd once sought to personally sign off on every request for an abortion made by an unaccompanied minor under his agency's care.
For safeguards, the report suggests two doctors need to independently sign off on a patient's death request, and the request should be witnessed by two people who don't have a conflict of interest.
That could make a difference if the investigators want to subpoena reporters or their records, because Mr. Holder himself would have to sign off on such a request.
In a deposition with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Lloyd struggled to think of a single scenario in which he would sign off on such a request.
