Four U.S. House members have introduced a bill that would strengthen privacy protections for e-mail in light of a federal court ruling that opened up e-mail to snooping by Internet service providers.
Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) and three other congressmen introduced the E-mail Privacy Act of 2004, according to news reports. The bill would require that e-mail be subject to federal wiretap law that requires a court order for real-time interception of communications. The bill would also prohibit private ISPs from accessing subscriber e-mail beyond what is necessary to provide service.
“This is just the kind of thing that’s needed when courts misinterpret the law as the court did in its June 29 ruling,” said Evan Hendricks, editor of the Privacy Times. Hendricks thought this bill might have a chance at passage this year.
“Who would oppose it?” he asked.
The Direct Marketing Association declined to comment pending review of the bill.
Inslee introduced the bill following the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which ruled that the vice president of an ISP couldn’t be charged with violating federal wiretapping laws for snooping on e-mail sent to his customers because the federal Wiretap Act does not prohibit ISPs from reading e-mail residing on their servers.
“The American people are no longer confident that the law protects their right to communicate privately via e-mail or other Internet communications, and Congress will act to modernize America’s privacy laws if the courts fail to maintain a strong privacy standard,” Inslee said in a statement.
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