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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Josh Bell, 212-549-2508jbell@aclu.org

House Passes Email and Cloud Privacy Reform Bill

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill today that updates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to require the government to get a warrant to read a person's emails or access information stored online in the cloud.

The American Civil Liberties Union supported the bill and is now pushing for passage of a Senate version.

Neema Singh Guliani, ACLU legislative counsel, had this reaction:

WASHINGTON

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill today that updates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to require the government to get a warrant to read a person's emails or access information stored online in the cloud.

The American Civil Liberties Union supported the bill and is now pushing for passage of a Senate version.

Neema Singh Guliani, ACLU legislative counsel, had this reaction:

"The level of bipartisan support for this bill is a reflection of public's strong belief that the government must respect and protect privacy rights in the digital age. Now it's the Senate's turn to pass this important bill and strengthen it by including a requirement that the government inform people when it forces companies to turn over their information."

More on the privacy implications of the bill is at:
https://www.aclu.org/letter/aclu-vote-recommendation-urging-house-vote-yes-hr-699-email-privacy-act

https://www.aclu.org/news/house-passes-email-and-cloud-privacy-reform-bill

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

(212) 549-2666