Today, the common public is aware, more than ever, regarding rights and privacy. Recent revelations made by whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange have made it clearer that your government is looking at your personal data. In the wake of some new leaks by Edward Snowden, I’d like to tell you that government can “effortlessly” read your emails anytime it wants, and it could be done without a warrant, without any hacking software.
Anything government wants to read, that is under the six-month stipulation, still needs a warrant.
The government had a chance to edit this “180-day rule” in March 2011 during an edit. But, it remained unchanged. Eff writes that after Snowden revelations, lawmakers are demanding for a change in the law. A warrantless email search reform bill was introduced in 2013, but it didn’t pass due to certain ‘constraints.’
Officials defend the law with absurd statements: “The Fourth Amendment doesn’t protect the communications held in electronic storage as the internet don’t have a “reasonable” expectation of privacy.” Well, if you need a password to access your email or social networking account, you DO have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
This law is outdated in terms of the continuously changing digital age. Various privacy groups and companies are rooting for this change as government agencies are continuously being accused of keeping an eye on common people.
Government has been repeatedly making excuses when it comes to updating EPCA. Express your views in comments if you find this law offensive.
Must Read: NSA’s Search Engine to Hack Into Your Lives is as Simple as Google
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