<p>Although the Email Privacy Act received a unanimous approval from the US House of Representatives, the bill is already getting some push back from the Senate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This act would prohibit law enforcement from obtaining citizens&rsquo; private emails without a warrant. Currently, officers are allowed to get this information with only a subpoena. This is much easier to obtain because it requires less judicial oversight. With law enforcement being mandated to acquire a warrant this would help give citizens&rsquo; more protection.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even though there was a 419-0 vote in favor of the act by the House, Sen. Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicated that the Senate may not support the bill.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Members of this committee on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns about the details of this reform, and whether it&rsquo;s balanced to reflect issues raised by law enforcement,&rdquo; said Grassley.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Evidently, Grassley and some members of the Senate are apprehensive about creating these legal hurdles for law enforcement. Those in opposition believe the bill lacks clarity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> ;</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;For example, if a warrant&rsquo;s required to obtain email, should the constitutionally-recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement &mdash; such as the email owner&rsquo;s consent &mdash; be fully available for law enforcement as well?&rdquo; said Grassley. &ldquo;I plan on taking a close look at the bill that passed the House, and talking with interested stakeholders and members of this committee to try to find a path forward for ECPA reform here in the Senate.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, many feel strongly about addressing this issue. The previous Electronic Communications Privacy Act from 1986, doesn&rsquo;t take into account today&rsquo;s digital developments, such as the web-based email systems that allow communications to be stored in the virtual cloud versus solely on computers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is a similar legislation already in the works by the Senate which has 26 co-sponsors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Now that the House has passed this bill by a vote of 419-0, it is time for the Senate to act. We urge the Senate to take up and pass this bipartisan, common-sense legislation without delay,&rdquo; said Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He hopes with the unanimous success of the Email Privacy Act by the House, this will encourage the Senate to pass this comparable proposal.</p>