NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Internet Companies & Advocacy Groups Call for Privacy Law Reforms (but Who is Missing?)
Internet Companies & Advocacy Groups Call for Privacy Law Reforms (but Who is Missing?) As I noted earlier, changes to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) are *long* overdue. I support the effort described and I applaud the broad coalition of organizations and firms involved. However, I would be remiss if I didn't note that absent from the clan (as far as I can tell) are any groups associated with the law enforcement side of the equation. One reason seems clear -- by and large law enforcement *likes* the status quo represented by the current ECPA, and in many cases would probably prefer to take it in the opposite direction from that espoused by the Digital Due Process coalition. And so, it would seem, the battle lines are drawn ... --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator ----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave@farber.net> ----- Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:26:44 -0400 From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> Subject: [IP] Re: EFF Joins With Internet Companies and Advocacy Groups to Reform Privacy Law Reply-To: dave@farber.net To: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> Begin forwarded message: From: EFF Press <press@eff.org> Date: March 30, 2010 12:17:07 PM EDT To: presslist@eff.org Subject: [E-B] EFF Joins With Internet Companies and Advocacy Groups to Reform Privacy Law Reply-To: press@eff.org Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Contact: Kevin Bankston Senior Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation bankston@eff.org +1 415 436-9333 x126 EFF Joins With Internet Companies and Advocacy Groups to Reform Privacy Law Coalition Urges Updates to Electronic Privacy Statute to Reflect Web 2.0 World San Francisco - As part of a broad coalition of privacy groups, think tanks, technology companies, and academics, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today issued recommendations for strengthening the federal privacy law that regulates government access to private phone and Internet communications and records, including cell phone location data. The "Digital Due Process" coalition includes major Internet and telecommunications companies like Google, Microsoft, and AT&T as well as advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT). The coalition has joined together to preserve traditional privacy rights and clarify legal protections in the face of a rapidly changing technological landscape. "The federal law protecting Internet and telephone users' privacy was written nearly 25 years ago, which is eons ago in 'Internet time,'" said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "When it comes to privacy, EFF has had its disagreements with fellow Digital Due Process members such as Google and AT&T. But this diverse coalition of privacy advocates and Internet companies agree on at least one thing: the current electronic privacy laws are woefully outdated and must be updated to provide clear privacy protections that reflect the always-on, location-enabled, Web 2.0 world of the 21st century." The group's four recommendations focus on how to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), a law originally passed in 1986 before the World Wide Web was invented and when the number of American cell phone users numbered in the tens of thousands rather than the hundreds of millions. The group recommends that the legal standards under which the government can obtain private communications and records be clarified and strengthened in order to: * Better protect the privacy of communications and documents you store in the cloud * Better protect you against secret tracking of your location through your cell phone or any other mobile device * Better protect you against secret monitoring of when and with whom you communicate over the telephone or the Internet * Better protect innocent Americans against government fishing expeditions through masses of communications data unrelated to a criminal suspect "The recommendations of the Digital Due Process coalition are not an exclusive list of the reforms to ECPA that EFF would support, and in some cases EFF would urge even stronger protections than those urged by the group," said Bankston. "However, EFF strongly agrees with its fellow Digital Due Process members that each of the coalition's recommended changes would significantly strengthen the law and better protect privacy." A full description of the coalition and its recommendations is available at www.digitaldueprocess.org. For this release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/03/30 About EFF The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/ -end- _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe or manage your email options: https://mail1.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/presslist ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----