ECPA Reform Letter in Support of Leahy Amendment

The Senate Judiciary Committee will take action on September 20, 2012 on an update of the Video Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 2471), which the House passed in December 2011, and attach provisions to that bill that would amend parts of the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). On Thursday, September 13, 2012, Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced his amendment to the Video Privacy Protection Act that would prevent companies from sharing customer emails without a search warrant in most cases. EDUCAUSE has joined with the Association of Research Libraries, businesses, and other trade associations in this letter sent by the Digital Due Process coalition, of which EDUCAUSE is a member, to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging support for Leahy’s amendment. The coalition argues that the out-of-date protections in ECPA for access to e-mail and other electronics could hamper the growth of cloud computing and other technologies.

See the blog entry, "ECPA Reform Tied to the Video Privacy Protection Act: Senate Mark-Up Set and EDUCAUSE Joins Letter in Support," for more information.