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Apple et al demand email law

Apple, Facebook, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others have sent a letter to the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley (R‑IA), urging him to pass the Email Privacy Act.

The legislation will update the antiquated 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act and close an important privacy loophole where the police can examine any email more than 180 days old with only a subpoena rather than a warrant obtained from a judge.

Last month, the House passed the Act unanimously in a 419-0 vote. But in passing to the Senate, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have again asked for an exemption carve-out in which they would still have access to such records.

The tech sector letter warns that granting special access to the FTC and SEC would "undermine the very purpose of the bill." ®

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