Reason.com
Mail Order
Electronic privacy breach
In 1986, Congress passed the Stored Communications Act, firming up Fourth Amendment privacy protections for email and other electronic communications. Since then, the government has had to show probable cause and obtain a warrant in order to get access to email maintained on an Internet service provider’s server if it is less than 180 days old. But federal prosecutors in Colorado think they have found a loophole: If email has been opened and read, they say, it no longer qualifies as “stored communications,” which refers to “temporary” storage and backups, so no warrant is necessary.
In December 2009, federal authorities used this argument to demand that the email host Yahoo! disclose the contents of messages stored on its servers, saying they were “relevant and material to the government’s investigation” in a secret criminal case. In a brief filed on Yahoo!’s behalf, Google, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and several other interested parties called the government’s reading of the law “strained,” saying it “contradicts [the] plain language” of the statute. It may also be unconstitutional: Case law suggests that stored email should enjoy the same Fourth Amendment protections as private papers.
More Articles by Peter Suderman
- The Technocratic Mind, Peter Suderman, May 9, 2012
- Taft for President!, Peter Suderman, May 2, 2012
- Health Care Reform Isn’t Entitlement Reform, Peter Suderman, April 25, 2012
Most Popular Stories
- St. Louis Cops Worry That In-Car Cameras 'Are Being Used Against Them' (5.23)
- Here Are the 15 Senators Who Voted to Stop Armed FDA Agents From Conducting Warrantless Raids on America's Farmers (Not One of Them is a Democrat) (5.24)
- Reason "Hero of Freedom" Larry Flynt's Latest Stunt? Photoshopping a Penis into Mouth of Conservative Pundit S.E. Cupp (5.24)
- Plastic Bag Ban Will Put Los Angeles In Landfill (5.23)
- Rand Paul Introduces Amendment to End the FDA's Insane Police Powers: "I see no reason to have the FDA carrying weapons." [UPDATED] (5.24)
Reason RUPE: Public Opinion Survey
- Reason-Rupe: Wisconsinites Favor Increasing Public Union Retirement Contributions to Address Budget Deficit (5.25)
- Reason-Rupe Poll Finds Support for Public Union Reforms (5.25)
- New Poll: Obama Leads Romney In Wisconsin, But Gary Johnson Could Impact the Race (5.24)
- Wisconsin Recall: Walker Leads Barrett 50-42 Among Likely Voters (5.24)
- Reason-Rupe Poll: Walker Leads Barrett 50-42, Obama Leads Romney 46-36 (5.24)
advertisements
Get Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsSite comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment or disable your ability to comment for any reason at any time.
Scarf|8.21.10 @ 10:30PM|#
fendi scarf,fendi scarf has been a worldwide business leader in selling high-quality consumer goods.
fendi scarf had expanded our line from fendi scarfs to a wider range.
They are fendi scarf,fendi scarf.fendi scarf:do you want to buy it?
ouyang|9.4.10 @ 4:22AM|#
Thanks for the information on your blog post, I habe found it really informative and I am about to recommend it on my local forum.. Kind regards.
http://www.nfljerseyspub.com
nfl jerseys|11.4.10 @ 9:57PM|#
fdf
Scarpe Nike|8.3.11 @ 9:26PM|#
is good
Jordan Shoes|8.12.11 @ 10:19PM|#
so perfect.