Of all the outdated privacy laws on the books, one of the most absurd is the law known as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, or ECPA. Passed in 1986, the law defies the Constitution and commonsense — it says the government can access emails without a warrant just because they're over 180 days old. In fact, one court has said this is in clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Congress has a chance to fix this. Right now, there is a bipartisan bill in the Senate, known as the ECPA Amendments Act, or S.356, that would reform this outdated law. A companion bill in the House has over 260 cosponsors — that's well over a majority of the House. However, Congressional leadership has refused to move these bills so far; but if cosponsors keep piling up, sooner or later they’ll be forced to pass these important pieces of privacy legislation.

Right now, your Senator, David Perdue, is not cosponsoring this bipartisan bill, but we think if he hears from his constituents in Georgia, he’ll do the right thing. 

S.356 would require the government to get a warrant if it wants to read your emails — just like the government needs a warrant to read your postal mail. It's about time the law caught up with technology.

Congress has a chance to restore Fourth Amendment rights for the digital age by passing this bill. Will you send an email to Sen. Perdue to let him know you support S.356 — and you want him to do the same? 

Dear Sen. Perdue,

Our Fourth Amendment protections should be upheld online and off. Please cosponsor S.356, an important piece of bipartisan legislation that protects citizens’ privacy and ensures the government can’t access our email without a warrant.

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