A Majority of House Members Say It’s Time to Change Government Surveillance Law

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act was enacted 1986 when stored electronic communications didn’t extend beyond answering machines for most Americans.  At the time, only a handful of people were even aware of the internet.

Since its enactment, the rapid growth of technology has allowed consumers to use cloud-based services to access their email, health data, and location information from wherever they are. ECPA is outdated legislation that can no longer meet these demands of our mobile economy.

The Email Privacy Act addresses the critical issues necessary to give consumers confidence in their online privacy and security.  Establishing a warrant standard for law enforcement to access a suspect’s data is the appropriate response to widespread concern about government intrusion.

Representatives Yoder, Polis, and Graves have shown great leadership advancing ECPA reform. With a bipartisan majority of House members standing behind them, now is the time for the House and Senate to pass these much needed reforms.