i2Coalition Board of Directors Demands ECPA Reforms to Protect Privacy Rights

The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations is set to meet tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM EST to discuss the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). ECPA is a top public policy priority for the i2Coalition and is in need of considerable revision. The legislation was enacted in 1986 to provide standards for law enforcement to access electronic communications, which at the time, provided privacy protections for those using budding Internet and wireless technologies. Since 1986, technology has advanced significantly and ECPA needs to be updated. Because of ECPA, infrastructure providers face complicated, and sometimes contradictory, requests for information that in some cases do not meet the state of current technology.

On Friday, the i2Coalition Board of Directors sent a letter to Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) urging them to support reform to include warrant requirements for government searches of online communications. It is crucial for revisions to establish consistent privacy protections and ensure that traditional constitutional guarantees of due process are upheld.

The i2Coalition recently launched the “4th Amendment Rights Shouldn’t Stop at the Internet” online petition in conjunction with CDT to help protect our online privacy rights, where we urge Congress to support warrant requirements in ECPA. If you want to help protect online privacy rights, we encourage you to sign it today.

Signers include: Co-Founder & Board Chair Christian Dawson, COO of ServInt; Co-Founder David Snead, Attorney at W. David Snead P.C.; David Bryson, Executive Vice President & General Counsel at Endurance International Group; Richard Feller, Principal at Hedgehog Hosting; Dennis Johnson, Senior Community Advisor at iNET; Andy Mentges, CEO of Jumpline, Inc.; Aaron Phillips, Vice President of Operations at c-Panel; Alan Schoenbaum, Senior Vice President & General Counsel at Rackspace; and Jeanine Wright, General Counsel at Media Temple.

The full text of the letter may be viewed here [PDF].