Email Privacy Act
The Email Privacy Act is a
In the
Background and bill provisions
The legislation would require authorities such as the
Under current law—the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986—authorities can obtain such data by issuing an administrative subpoena to an Internet service provider, without the need to obtain judicial approval.[4][5][6] The Congressional Research Service reported in 2015 that: "In recent years, ECPA has faced increased criticism from both the tech and privacy communities that it has outlived its usefulness in the digital era and does not provide adequate privacy safeguards for individuals' electronic communications. In light of these concerns, various reform bills have been introduced in the past several Congresses..."[7]
The Email Privacy Act would codify as federal law the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in United States v. Warshak (2010). In that case, the Sixth Circuit held that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that the government obtain a warrant before accessing emails stored online (e.g., in the cloud).[6][8][9] The Warshak ruling currently applies only to the Sixth Circuit; the Email Privacy Act would extend its rule nationwide.[6][8]
Supporters and opponents
The legislation "is widely supported by the tech industry and privacy advocates."[1]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has pushed for the legislation for over six years, hailing the House vote in favor of the legislation in 2016 as "a win for user privacy" and urging the Senate to approve it without weakening amendments.[8] The EFF noted, however, that the bill "isn't perfect" because it does not require the government to notify users when the government seeks their data from service providers, which the EFF believes is "a vital safeguard ensuring users can obtain legal counsel to fight for their rights."[8]
A wide array of
The Digital 4th Coalition—an advocacy coalition consisting of the ACLU, ATR, CDT, and
A public-opinion survey of U.S. registered voters conducted by Vox Populi Polling on behalf of the Digital 4th Coalition found that 77 percent agreed that a warrant should be required to access "emails, photos and other private communications stored online."[12] When respondents heard a summary of the ECPA's provisions, "86 percent said it should be updated, and 53 percent said they'd be more likely to support a candidate who favored 'strengthening online privacy' through reforming the law."[12]
In 2015, the
The bill faces opposition from some federal agencies, who state that they rely on subpoenas to conduct investigations.[1][12] In Senate committee testimony given in September 2015, Federal Trade Commission officials expressed concern that "recent proposals could impede its ability to obtain certain information" from Internet companies.[12]
113th Congress (2013–15)
The bill failed in the
114th Congress (2015–17)
In the
The lead sponsors of the companion Senate legislation, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015 (S. 356) were Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah.[4][16] Twenty-five other senators were cosponsors.[16]
After the House passed its bill, Leahy and Lee called upon the Senate to "take up and pass this bipartisan, common-sense legislation without delay."
115th Congress (2017–19)
The Email Privacy Act was again introduced in the
116th Congress (2019–21)
In the
References
- ^ a b c Tummarello, Kate (June 18, 2014). "Bill requiring warrants for email searches hits magic number in House". The Hill. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ^ Wise, Lindsay. "Government wonders: What's in your old emails?". McClatchy. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ^ Jaycox, Mark (January 23, 2015). "Seventy Public Interest Organizations and Companies Urge Congress to Update Email Privacy Law". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Dustin Volz, Email privacy bill unanimously passes U.S. House, Reuters (April 27, 2016).
- ^ a b c d House Unanimously Passes Email Privacy Act, National Law Review (May 1, 2016).
- ^ a b c d The House Votes Unanimously to Strengthen Email Privacy, New York Times (April 29, 2016).
- ^ Richard M. Thompson II & Jared P. Cole, Reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), Congressional Research Service (May 15, 2015) (republished by Statewatch).
- ^ a b c d e Sophia Cope, House Advances Email Privacy Act, Setting the Stage for Vital Privacy Reform, Electronic Frontier Foundation (April 27, 2016).
- ^ Center for Democracy & Technology(April 25, 2016).
- ^ About Us Archived 2016-05-07 at the Wayback Machine, Digital 4th Coalition.
- ^ Drew Clark, With unanimous House passage, Email Privacy Act may become real, Deseret News (May 1, 2016).
- ^ a b c d Andrew Peterson, The government often doesn’t need a warrant to get your e-mails. But most think it should, Washington Post (November 30, 2015).
- ^ Tim Cushing, White House Vaguely Agrees Outdated ECPA Should Be Reformed But Only With An Eye On The Government's 'Interests', TechDirt (July 28, 2015).
- ^ H.R.1852 - Email Privacy Act, 113th Congress (2013-2014).
- Govtrack.us.
- ^ a b S.356 - Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015: 114th Congress (2015-2016), Congress.gov.
- ^ Mike Masnick, SEC and Chuck Grassley Still Trying To Stop Email Privacy Act That Got UNANIMOUS Support in the House, TechDirt (May 9, 2016).
- ^ a b Amir Nasr, Tech, Civil Liberties Advocates Wary of Email Privacy Amendments, Morning Consult (June 2, 2016).
- ^ a b Aisha Chowdhry, Email privacy legislation stalls in Senate, Federal Computer Week (May 27, 2016).
- ^ a b c Erin Kelly, Senate derails bill to rein in email surveillance, USA Today (June 9, 2016).
- ^ Steven Trader, Reps. Reintroduce Widely Supported Email Privacy Act, Law360 (January 9, 2017).
- ^
- Dustin Volz, U.S. House passes bill requiring warrants to search old emails, Reuters (February 7, 2017).
- Kate Tummarello, The Fight Over Email Privacy Moves to the Senate, Electronic Frontier Foundation (February 7, 2017)
- ^ H.R.387 - Email Privacy Act, 115th Congress (2017-2018).
- ^ David Ruiz, mail Privacy Act Comes Back, Hopefully to Stay, Electronic Frontier Foundation (May 29, 2018).
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP(January 28, 2019).