i2Coalition Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Against Police Cell Phone Searches Without a Warrant

Washington, D.C. – Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) Co-Founder and Public Policy Chair David Snead released the following statement today on the Supreme Court ruling that police may not search the cell phones of criminal suspects upon arrest without a warrant:

“The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that police can’t search cell phones of criminal suspects without a warrant. If searching cell phone records requires a warrant, surely the same standard should apply to email and electronic communications. This ruling, coupled with the Yoder-Polis Email Privacy Act (H.R. 1852) reaching 218 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives last week, shows continued momentum for privacy safeguards and constitutional guarantees. H.R. 1852 will make much-needed changes to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which has not been changed since it was enacted in 1986. Next up is for Congress to pass and the President to sign H.R. 1852, real reform to ECPA that brings the legislation into this century.”