Data Privacy Day: Good Time For Congress To Pass ECPA Reforms, CCIA Says
1/28/2013
Washington – As privacy advocates mark
Data Privacy Day Monday, the Computer & Communications Industry Association
is calling on Congress to update the nation’s 27 year old laws governing when
and how the government can obtain peoples email and other online documents.
In 1986 Congress wrote the Electronic
Communications Privacy Act that attempted to address this issue. While it was
considerably forward looking for its time, it couldn’t have predicted how
people would be using the Internet nearly 30 years later. The law provides some
protections for online communications, but not nearly to the level that the
public would expect.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick
Leahy, who actually wrote ECPA in 1986, has introduced updates that would
require law enforcements to get warrants before obtaining this type of private
information online and fix some of the most egregious problems. Late last year,
the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure with bipartisan support.
Now the new House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte has indicated his
willingness to work with Leahy on a House version.
The following can be attributed to CCIA
President & CEO Ed Black:
“Congress must take that last step and turn the bill into law. It
is the right thing to do for business, it is the right thing to do for
innovation, and it is the right thing to do for civil liberties. Senator Leahy
must be congratulated and thanked for his work so far, and encouraged to finish
the work. There can’t be a better week than this one marking Data Privacy Day
to take those final steps.
“We’re encouraged with statements in the
past week that the House and Senate plan to work together to bring this
law into the 21st Century.
“Most people would be surprised that currently law enforcement can
demand your emails from a web mail provider and there is no requirement to ask
a judge to sign a warrant. The fourth amendment protects documents in our homes
and that law was based on our founders’ insight into the potential for
government to abuse its power if it can find out private information about
citizens without restraint. A change in technology should not mean a change in
the principles behind our laws against unreasonable search and seizure.
“Another reason to update the law is an economic one. Outdated
privacy laws are hampering the development of one of the few growing sectors in
the American economy – cloud computing. The lack of protection can be a reason
individuals and companies, who might be interested in taking advantage of the
increased productivity, security, and cost savings that come with deploying
cloud solutions, hesitate to enact those updates.”
