On February 6, 2017, the House of Representatives suspended its rules and passed by voice vote H.R 387, the Email Privacy Act. The Email Privacy Act now moves to the Senate, where it will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Email Privacy Act Reintroduced in Congress
On January 9, 2017, Representatives Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Jared Polis (D-CO) reintroduced the Email Privacy Act, which would amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to require government entities to obtain a warrant, based on probable cause, before accessing the content of any emails or electronic communications stored with third-party service providers, regardless of how long the communications have been held in electronic storage by such providers.
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California Passes New Digital Privacy Law
On October 8, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The law requires police to obtain a warrant before accessing an individual’s private electronic information. …
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White House Releases Report on Big Data
On May 1, 2014, the White House released a report examining how big data is affecting government, society and commerce. In addition to questioning longstanding tenets of privacy legislation, such as notice and consent requirements, the report recommends (1) passing national data breach legislation, (2) revising the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and (3) advancing the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
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PCLOB Report Concludes NSA’s Bulk Collection of Customer Phone Records Is Unlawful
On January 23, 2014, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board released a report concluding that the National Security Agency does not have a valid legal basis for its bulk telephone records collection program.
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California Governor Vetoes Electronic Communications Privacy Bill
Following recent approvals of two new online privacy laws in California, on October 12, 2013, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed an electronic communications privacy bill that would have compelled law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before seeking access to electronic communications maintained by service providers. …
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Senators Franken and Blumenthal Co-Sponsor Location Privacy Protection Act
On June 15, 2011, Senators Al Franken and Richard Blumenthal introduced a bill intended to “close current loopholes in federal law to ensure that consumers know what location information is being collected about them and allow them to decide if they want to share it.”
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Lawsuits Allege Apple Applications Sent Personal Information to Third Parties
In late December 2010, consumers filed two class action lawsuits against Apple Inc., claiming that several applications they downloaded from Apple’s App Store sent their personal information to third parties without their consent.
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Privacy Settings on Social Networking Sites May Determine Protection Under Stored Communications Act
A federal district court in California recently quashed a civil subpoena for private messages sent through Facebook and MySpace, but found that more evidence regarding the plaintiff’s privacy settings was needed to determine whether his wall posts and comments should be similarly protected.
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Failure to Secure Wireless Network Defeats ECPA Claims
A computer user’s failure to secure his wireless network contributed to the defeat of his claim that a neighbor’s unwelcome access to his files violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”). The ECPA places restrictions on unauthorized interception of, and access to, electronic communications.
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