Tell Your Senators to Stop the Government from Reading Your Emails!

Dear FreedomWorks member,

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your Senators regarding the ECPA Amendments Act (S. 607.). The Electronics Communication Act (ECPA) was designed in an era before electronic communication and storage had emerged as a dominant force in modern life. As such, it could not have foreseen the crucial need for better privacy protections, given the vast amount of sensitive information now stored digitally. As times change, legislation must be kept up to date in order to ensure that the continued liberty of the people against excessive government intrusion not be abridged due to gaps and ambiguities in previous laws.

Recent revelations about the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to view private emails without a court-ordered search warrant have raised legitimate concerns about the increasingly unchecked power of the state over its citizens.

Americans have the right to feel secure that their privacy will not be compromised without due process, a right explicitly protected under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, the Fourth Amendment clearly protects against unreasonable search and seizure, and requires probable cause for the issuing of warrants. As it stands, ECPA leaves dangerous openings for the violation of these constitutional rights.

For this reason, we urge you to voice your support for the ECPA Amendments Act (S. 607) introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy and Mike Lee. This act would prevent the federal government from prying into private, electronically stored information of law abiding citizens without following the proper channels of law.

S. 607 is a critical step in keeping government out of the private lives of its citizens, and it is our hope that you will ask your Senators to co-sponsor and otherwise support the ECPA Amendments Act.

Sincerely,
 
Matt Kibbe
President and CEO
FreedomWorks