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The 'Digital 4th' Coalition Urges Congress to Reform the 'Electronic Communications Privacy Act'
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(94 seconds)
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(OPEN):
WITH CONCERN RUNNING HIGH ABOUT DOMESTIC SPYING BY THE "NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY", PRIVACY-EXPERTS SAY THAT IT'S TIME TO UPDATE
THE NATION'S LAWS--TO BETTER PROTECT AMERICANS' CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
A BIPARTISAN COALITION--CALLED "DIGITAL 4TH"--SAYS THAT
ONE FEDERAL LAW THAT'S READY FOR REFORM IS THE "ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT". CHRIS CALABRESE IS WITH
THE "AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION"--AND IS A MEMBER OF
"DIGITAL 4TH"...
(CALABRESE):
"TECHNOLOGY'S
CHANGED--BUT OUR PRIVACY-LAWS HAVEN'T. THE 'ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT'--OR 'ECPA'--WAS PASSED IN 19-86--LONG BEFORE
WE HAD GOOGLE OR EVEN FACEBOOK. 'ECPA' SAYS [THAT] THE GOVERNMENT
CAN ACCESS PERSONAL DATA [THAT] WE'VE STORED ONLINE--WHETHER IT'S
E-MAILS OR PHOTOS OR DRAFT-DOCUMENTS--WITHOUT A SEARCH-WARRANT ISSUED BY
A JUDGE. THAT'S THE STANDARD [THAT'S] NEEDED TO SEARCH YOUR HOUSE."
(BRIDGE):
KATIE MCAULIFFE IS WITH "AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM"--AND
IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE COALITION...
(MCAULIFFE):
"AS THE LAW IS
CURRENTLY WRITTEN, PRIVATE INFORMATION [THAT'S] STORED IN THE CLOUD DOES
NOT RECEIVE THE SAME PROTECTION AS DOCUMENTS [THAT ARE] STORED IN A
DESK-DRAWER. BUT NOW, THE INTERNET IS OUR DESK-DRAWER. SO,
WE'RE URGING CONGRESS TO EXTEND PRIVACY-RIGHTS INTO THE DIGITAL AGE--BY
UPDATING 'ECPA', TO REQUIRE THE GOVERNMENT TO GET A WARRANT TO READ OUR
E-MAIL. PEOPLE ARE LEGITIMATELY CONCERNED ABOUT
GOVERNMENT-OVERREACHING. 'ECPA'-REFORM WON'T FIX EVERYTHING--BUT
IT IS A START. THE LEGISLATION TO REFORM 'ECPA' IS BIPARTISAN; YOU
DON'T SEE THAT MUCH IN WASHINGTON TODAY. CONGRESS SHOULD PASS
'ECPA'-REFORM NOW--AS THE FIRST STEP IN RESTORING OUR RIGHTS."
(CLOSE):
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
"DIGITAL-4TH"-DOT-ORG.
