ACLU Wants 80's Internet Privacy Law Updated

 Dear ACLU Supporter,

Few people realize that the law designed to protect the privacy of our electronic communications hasn't been updated since 1986.

Think about it. In 1986, mobile phones were bigger than your head and the Internet as we know it didn't even exist.

The longer our privacy law remains out of date, the more your privacy is at risk.

We need you to change that. Tomorrow, Congress turns its attention to updating this law as the House of Representatives holds hearings on how cell phone records reveal and track our location. Now's the time to let Congress know Americans want them to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and protect our privacy.

Tell Congress you want our electronic privacy law updated.



Many activities that have become commonplace since 1986—writing email, searching online, using your cell phone—don't have adequate privacy protections, leaving your personal information vulnerable to abuse by the government.

The threat is real. Sprint, for example, received 8 million demands for mobile location data about countless people in just a little over a year. In the absence of a good electronic privacy law, government agencies—from the NSA to local police departments—are essentially going on surveillance shopping sprees for our data. And what's even more shocking is that in many cases government agencies claim they don't even need a warrant to access your personal information.

But cell phone tracking is just the tip of the iceberg. Threats to your privacy are very real as private companies are building vast databases about who you are, where you go, and what you do. They're looking at everything from web chats, to GPS devices, to eReaders and video sites and using this outdated privacy law to easily access your private information. You can change that.

Tell Congress to protect our privacy by updating ECPA today.

Thanks for taking action,

Anthony D. Romero Executive Director ACLU