Groups Push for Electronic Privacy Bill Update

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

With Congress back for only a special guest appearance — three weeks or so — before exiting to get themselves re-elected, tech companies, advocacy organizations and others are calling for action on an update of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).

Specifically, TechFreedom, ACLU, Apple, AOL and a veritable host of others, are calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to schedule a floor vote on S.607, the Leahy-Lee bill updating ECPA. The bill was reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee last year.

The bill would require warrants for access to "the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage with or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider." It would also put electronic communications stored in the cloud on the same footing as that stored elsewhere.

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John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.