As the law currently stands, emails left on online servers for over 180
days are considered “abandoned property” and can be obtained for
investigations without a warrant. This is why we in the people’s House
acted this week with an overwhelming bipartisan majority to pass H.R.
699: the Email Privacy Act. I cosponsored and voted for this
legislation to ensure that emails are protected by requiring law
enforcement to obtain warrants for this virtual property when conducting
criminal investigations, bringing email standards in line with those
already established for wire-taps. Security and law enforcement are
critical parts of our society, but we cannot afford to sacrifice our
constitutional liberties.
- cynthialummis posted this