I issued the following statement in support of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy’s (D‐VT) substitute Manager’s Amendment to H.R. 2471, which would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Sen. Leahy’s amendment will be considered by the Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
“SIIA supports Chairman Leahy’s proposed Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) reform in order to address the tremendous technological advances in communications and computing technology since 1986, when the statute was passed. The legislation proposed by Sen. Leahy would create a warrant requirement for law enforcement access to remotely stored electronic content. This legislation presents a big step toward making sure that the information Americans store in the cloud receives the same level of protection as the information stored in their homes.
“SIIA commends Sen. Leahy’s Leadership on this very important issue, and we urge members of the Judiciary Committee to support the substitute manager’s amendment while opposing any amendments that would weaken the warrant requirement.”
Ken Wasch is President of SIIA.