Latta votes for federal Email Privacy Act

VW independent/submitted information

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-Ohio) voted in support of H.R. 699, the Email Privacy Act, of which he is also a co-sponsor.

Introduced by Representative Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) and passed by the House of Representatives, H.R. 699 would prohibit a third-party provider of remote computing services or electronic communication services from knowingly divulging to a government entity the contents of any communication that is in electronic storage or otherwise maintained by the provider, subject to exceptions.

The government would be required to obtain a warrant from a court before requiring third-party providers to disclose the content of such communications, regardless of how the communication has been held in electronic storage by an electronic communication service or whether the information is sought from an electronic communication service or a remote computing service:

“Technology has changed dramatically since the last time digital communication privacy laws were updated in 1986,” said Latta. “This legislation will modernize these outdated laws to ensure they keep up with the evolving technology and to provide courts with clarity over the legal standards for releasing emails and other electronic communications.

“I believe the federal government can, and must, play a role in upholding the Fourth Amendment and guarding against government intrusion into our personal lives,” Latta added.