Email privacy bill gets a boost

Tech companies and privacy groups are pushing Congress to move ahead with email privacy reform now that a majority of the House supports a bill that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before accessing stored emails.

The Email Privacy Act -- from Reps Kevin Yoder (R-KS) and Jared Polis (D-CO) -- got its 218th cosponsor, meaning a majority of the House now supports the bill, which would reform a 1986 law that allows law enforcement officials to access, without a warrant, emails that have been stored more than 180 days.

The companies and privacy groups that have long lobbied for email privacy reform hailed the milestone. Among others, Google and Digital 4th -- a pro-ECPA reform coalition that includes the ACLU, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Tax Reform -- hailed the bill and called for Congressional action.