WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice of the tech sector, issued the following statement from President and CEO Dean Garfield applauding the House Judiciary Committee for marking up the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699), updating the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Garfield called on the U.S. House of Representatives to act quickly to pass ECPA reform legislation, which has been called ‘the most popular bill in Congress’ because of its strong bipartisan support:

“Today’s vote in the House Judiciary Committee approving the Email Privacy Act moves us that much closer to updating the woefully outdated thirty-year old Electronic Communications Privacy Act,” Garfield said. “We thank Chairman Bob Goodlatte and ranking member John Conyers for working together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that Americans’ email has the same privacy protections under the law as their regular mail. With 315 Members of Congress supporting this measure, it is rare to find an issue that has garnered this much broad bipartisan support. Speaker Ryan could be the most popular man in Congress by bringing this measure to the House floor quickly so lawmakers can have an opportunity to vote on these necessary reforms.”

ITI and the tech sector have been strong proponents for ECPA reform, and has previously encouraged the House Judiciary Committee to act on the legislation approved today that requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant to gain access to online user content.

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