Today Senators Mike Lee and Patrick Leahy, and Congressmen Jared Polis and Kevin Yoder released bills to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. The bipartisan bills from both chambers will bring much needed updates to data privacy in the mobile world. Following the release of the bills, ACT | The App Association Executive Director Morgan Reed released the following statement:
“ACT | The App Association applauds Senators Lee and Leahy, and Congressmen Polis and Yoder for their commitment to data privacy. When ECPA was drafted in 1986, email was hardly in use and the World Wide Web – which we now recognize as the public internet – was still five years away. Back when people didn’t store data online, the authors thought it was reasonable to search electronic communications after 180 days without probable cause. But today we store financial records, personal data, and private information electronically, and ECPA no longer meets consumers’ expectations of privacy.“We have long advocated for legal clarity that encourages the adoption of new technologies, and provides an environment for innovation. The American public must have confidence in the privacy of their data for app companies and technology firms to succeed. This reform legislation will go a long way to ensure that happens.”
Image: Thomas Hawk / license / no changes made