The Scope of Government Access to Copies of Electronic Communications Stored with Internet Service Providers: A Review of Legal Standards
6 J. TECH. L. & POL’Y 2 (2001)
The similarity of electronic communications to traditional postal mail -- including their written nature and the “seals” provided by e-mail account passwords – counsel Congress to provide statutory protections for electronic communications similar to those protecting postal mail from government access, within the framework of constitutional protections afforded postal mail, which electronic mail, like telegrams in the nineteenth century, is increasingly replacing. The tide of legal and legislative precedents flows in the direction of providing greater protections from government access to electronic communications stored by internet service providers (ISP’s) for backup purposes, and toward requirements that requests for stored electronic communications be narrowly tailored. This article explores these issues.
