The Senate Judiciary Committee began consideration of a bill...
The Senate Judiciary Committee began consideration of a bill (S-607) by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that would amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) during a Thursday executive business meetings. The bill would eliminate…
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“the ambiguous and outdated 180-day rule” for warrantless access to stored email currently in ECPA and would require that law enforcement officials obtain a search warrant before accessing electronic communications, Lee said. “Subject to some logical exceptions,” law enforcement officials would have to notify individuals of that access within 10 days, Lee said. Lee, Leahy and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, discussed recent claims that the IRS has accessed individuals’ email accounts. “These concerns are more than theoretical,” Lee said; Leahy said he “is getting more and more concerned.” Citing the support of the committee in the last session, Grassley suggested that Leahy put the bill on the schedule for the next committee business meeting, where it will likely be passed by voice vote. The committee scheduled an executive business meeting to discuss the bill at 10 a.m. April 25 in 226 Dirksen.