WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) —the advocacy organization representing 58 of the world’s leading technology companies — joined a letter by companies, organizations and advocacy groups calling on Congress to pass legislation to update the nearly three decade old Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).  ITI issued the following statement from Yael Weinman, vice president for global privacy policy and general counsel:

“ITI urges Senate and House leadership to take action and bring to the floor, without delay, pending legislation that would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).  ECPA is a woefully outmoded law and must be updated so that law enforcement is required to obtain a warrant in order to gain access to online user content.  And civil agencies shouldn’t be allowed to get a pass on a bright-line warrant for content requirement — they must also be required to obtain a warrant to access online user content.  Congress should take action and pass a clean ECPA bill — an important step that will increase user confidence in their online services and, in turn, help promote the growth of cloud and IT services.”

A copy of the letter signed by ITI and many other stakeholders to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can be found here and a companion letter to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy can be found here.  In June ITI called on members of Congress to act to pass bipartisan ECPA reform legislation when the bill gained the support of a majority of lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

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About ITI. The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) is the premier advocacy and policy organization for the world’s leading innovation companies.  ITI navigates the relationships between policymakers, companies, and non-governmental organizations, providing creative solutions that advance the development and use of technology around the world. Visit www.itic.org to learn more. Follow us on Twitter for the latest ITI news and other alerts: @ITI_TechTweets

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