Senate Judiciary Not Planning To Act on Updated ECPA Bill Anytime Soon

The Senate Judiciary Committee isn't planning to act on S-356, which would update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), until certain concerns about investigations by civil enforcement agencies are addressed, a spokesman for Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, emailed Wednesday. The House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved its ECPA update bill, called the Email Privacy Act (see 1604130036), which creates a uniform warrant standard for law enforcement agencies to get access to people's electronic communications in all criminal investigations. HR-699, with 314 co-sponsors and headed to a full House vote, doesn't contain a carve-out for civil agencies like the SEC that had wanted an exception since they aren't allowed to obtain such warrants. Grassley's spokesman emailed that some of the chairman's "concerns relate to how some of these bills would hamper the civil enforcement of our securities, environmental, and consumer protection laws, the failure of these bills to address ongoing problems encountered by state and local law enforcement officials who must use the ECPA process to obtain information to solve serious crimes, and even how these bills could affect Congress’s ability to exercise its oversight responsibilities." S-356, which had a hearing in September, is sponsored by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.