ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, regarding the reintroduction of the House Email Privacy Act by Reps. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.), and the Senate Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015 by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), which would update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA):
“We thank Reps. Yoder and Polis and Sens. Leahy and Lee for fighting to protect citizens’ privacy by reforming ECPA and bringing it up-to-speed with modern technology. The more than 218 co-sponsors for the House bill are a clear, bipartisan indication that it’s time for federal law to recognize the realities of today’s data storage.
“Under current law, data stored on local sources such as your computer or smartphone is better protected from government searches than data stored on the cloud. Further, ECPA requires the government to obtain a warrant to access data stored for fewer than 180 days, but eliminates the warrant requirement after 180 days – a failure to recognize that, unlike when ECPA was drafted, many of our emails are more than 180-days-old. With the proliferation of cloud services, the distinction in protections between data stored by a third party, like a cloud provider, and data stored locally no longer makes sense. These bills will update ECPA by eliminating the different requirements for cloud data, replacing them with a single standard – that the government must always get a warrant, protecting cloud providers and consumers alike.
“Our citizens should know their personal data is legally protected, no matter where it’s stored. We look forward to working with both the House and Senate as these companion bills move forward.”
About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the technology trade association representing the $223 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative and regulatory advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org, www.DeclareInnovation.com and through social media: http://www.ce.org/social
UPCOMING EVENTS
- CES Unveiled Tokyo
February 18, 2015, Tokyo, Japan
- CEA Winter Break
March 5-8, 2015, Snowmass Village, CO
- Technology & Standards Spring Forum
March 24-26, 2015, Nashville, TN
- Digital Patriots Dinner
April 14, 2015, Washington DC
- CES on the Hill
April 15, 2015, Washington DC
- 2015 International CES Asia
May 25-27, 2015, Shanghai, China
- CEO Summit
May 25-27, 2015, Shanghai, China
- CES Unveiled New York
November 10, 2015, New York, NY
Contacts
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
Izzy Santa, 703-907-4308
[email protected]
www.CE.org
or
Tyler Suiters, 703-907-7654
[email protected]
