Update to Privacy Law Takes Big Step Forward

WASHINGTON – Today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to adopt an amendment that would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to protect with a warrant the contents of email and other sensitive personal and proprietary electronic communications stored “in the cloud.”

The Committee is expected to take up the bill when it returns from recess after the November election and decide then on whether to report the bill for consideration by the Senate.

“We applaud the Committee for taking this significant first step in preserving our constitutional safeguards in the face of rapidly evolving technology,” said Gregory T. Nojeim, CDT Senior Counsel. “Chairman Leahy’s bill protects privacy, provides law enforcement with the ability to conduct effective investigations, and promotes US technological innovation and business opportunities for cloud computing.”