By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 5-24-18
The House has overwhelmingly (351 to 66) passed the massive defense appropriations bill HR 5515, the National Defense Authorization Act for 2019, a bill that includes a data privacy win for tech companies.
In a late-edition amendment, the Email Privacy Act was adopted by voice vote Thursday morning (May 24). The bill, which updates the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, requires law enforcement to get a warrant before inspecting emails, texts and other electronic communications stored in the cloud.
The Email Privacy Act, which was pushed through by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), passed the House unanimously last year but got no further.
“We thank the House of Representatives for joining our industry’s commitment to protect and empower consumers to create, share and collect electronic data in a secure and private manner – regardless of where it’s stored or for how long,” said Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro. » Read More