The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 has finally come into the 20th Century. The US House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass the E-mail Privacy Act (HR.699) and we at Hedgehog could not be more proud to have been an active part of this process. So you ask, what does this mean for me?
This bill ensures that law enforcement is required to get a warrant before forcing technology companies, like Hedgehog, to hand over customer emails, no matter how old they are. The Act also rejects the Department of Justice interpretation of ECPA that the mere act of opening an email removes it from warrant protection. This act requires law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant, and most reputable service providers will not relinquish their users’ content without one
Richard Feller, in conjunction with the i2Coalition and the Consumer Technology Association, has spent the better part of the last three years educating our elected officials on the importance of strong digital rights for Internet users. "A strong digital rights platform strengthens the position of Internet companies located within the United States and allows us to better compete in today's global marketplace."
Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts and took action by contacting their elected officials. A very special thank you to my good friend, Ximena Hartsock of Phone2Action, who's digital grassroots platform made it easy for us to engage our elected officials. And finally, a very special thank you to Representatives Yoder, Graves, Polis, Issa and Lofgren for their tremendous support for real ECPA reform. Their work led the way to the unanimous passage of the E-mail Privacy Act.
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