US takes another shot at stopping warrantless reading of emails

Legislation that aims to put a stop to warrantless reading of emails got a fillip Wednesday with bills introduced both in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The bipartisan “Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015” will require the government to have a search warrant to obtain the content of Americans’ emails and other electronic communications stored with a third-party service provider, even if it is older than 180 days.

It will also require that the government notify the person whose account was disclosed, and provide him with a copy of the search warrant and other details about the information obtained. The notice has to be provided within 10 business days of receipt of the communications for a law enforcement agency, and three business days for other agencies, unless a court order to delay notification is obtained.

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