Colorado law enforcement will soon have faster access to digital evidence after Gov. Jared Polis signed a pared‑down bill requiring social media companies to acknowledge and respond to search warrants on a tight timeline, a shift from a broader proposal he vetoed last year.

Senate Bill 011 also require social media platforms to establish a hotline for Colorado law enforcement agencies to contact them about new and ongoing search warrants.

Platforms will be required to acknowledge receipt of a search warrant within eight hours and provide status updates to law enforcement as the warrant is carried out under the legislation sponsored by Sens. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, and Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, and Reps. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, and Jarvis Caldwell, R-Colorado Springs.

Last session, Polis vetoed Senate Bill 086, which established certain requirements for social media platforms to protect minor users, including a requirement that the tech companies respond to search warrants within 72 hours.

“As a former Deputy District Attorney, I saw firsthand how critical digital evidence can be in serious criminal investigations,” said Roberts. “Increasingly, warrants are being disregarded or not treated with the seriousness they deserve by social media platforms, and delays in accessing evidence can have real consequences. SB26-011 helps ensure that court-approved warrants are respected so investigators can move quickly and responsibly.”

In his veto letter last year, Polis described the previous bill as having good intentions but failing to guarantee the safety of minors or adults. That bill, the governor added, also eroded privacy, freedom, and innovation and could hurt vulnerable people. It could also potentially subject Coloradans to stifling and unwarranted scrutiny of constitutionally-protected speech, he said.

The governor had supported other aspects of the legislation, according to his office. Those included giving law enforcement “new tools to crack down on online criminal activity, especially targeted at children,” his office said last year.

The governor’s veto was not unexpected. The 2025 bill had been opposed by the administration, major tech companies, such as TikTok, and the ACLU, ProgressNow Colorado and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

SB 86 won support from the Attorney General, in a rare public division with the governor’s office. School districts, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, all 23 elected District Attorneys, Children’s Hospital, and the chiefs of police association also supported the measure.

The state Senate decided to override Polis’ veto, but the effort fizzled in the state House.

This year’s iteration of the bill was significantly narrowed and mirrors a policy enacted in California last summer.