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The ECPA Modernization Act: reforming data privacy laws for the modern web
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act was passed in 1986 — long before smartphones and cloud computing would take off — but our private data continues to be governed by it. The proliferation of offsite storage has made it easy for law enforcement to access data without a warrant. Now, recent legislation aims to overhaul the ECPA, for better or for worse. Follow along here to see the latest updates on the ECPA Modernization Act.
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January 26, 2013
Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook say they require warrants to give over private content
While the policies are somewhat reassuring, they don't have the full force of the law yet
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November 27, 2012
Important federal privacy law set for Senate committee vote on Thursday
The ECPA Modernization Act could help or hinder consumer privacy
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November 20, 2012
Privacy bill reportedly rewritten to allow federal agencies to access your data without a warrant (updated)
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy takes a 180-degree turn on consumer protection
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August 10, 2012
It's time to reformat data privacy for the 21st century, but does Congress want the upgrade?
A newly-proposed bill is attempting to reconfigure an antiquated privacy law, ensuring that all requests for cloud data require a warrant citing probable cause. But is such sweeping reform even possible under our current Congress?