E-mail privacy act has votes to pass House

According to legislators and others, a bill protecting e-mail privacy has enough votes to pass in the House if it is brought up for a vote. The Email Privacy Act has 218 co-sponsors, according to the Computer & Communications Industry Association, whose members include Microsoft, Google and eBay, as well as Dish, Aereo, Sprint and T-Mobile.

Reps Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Jared Polis (D-CO) are lead sponsors on the bill, which would change the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to require a warrant before ISP's would have to disclose the contents of e-mail communications.

“This bill would finally offer email, social messaging and other cloud-stored data the same protection as files stored inside someone’s home," said CCIA president Ed Black. "If the government agency wants to obtain cloud-stored data, it would need to go before a judge and get a warrant for that search.” "With 218 representatives backing H.R. 1852, the bipartisan 'Email Privacy Act,' the House of Representatives should seize the opportunity to pass legislation that takes a meaningful step in addressing concerns that Americans have about law enforcement access to their data," said the Information Technology Industry Council.