Electronic Communication Privacy Act 1986 Essay
This decision protects the privacy rights of people who commit even a minor offense, or those who were arrested for an offense they did not commit. This decision will also protect those arrested with laptops, tablets, cameras, and other technology. By this decision the Court also protected free speech under the First Amendment, as people would have to limit what they said if they knew the government could read your emails, listen to your voice messages, and review your internet searches. The government has passes legislation to protect privacy with federal wiretap laws. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act 1986 is one of these. This Federal law broadened the existing regulations placed on electronic communication interception and
…show more content…
When a person uses the internet their information is stored by their service provider, this raised questions as to Forth Amendment rights of the user. The Supreme Court has held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect information held by third parties, such as internet service providers (ISP), as illustrated in Smith v. Maryland in which the issue was if the installation and use of a pen register constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Another issue is, since internet service providers (ISP) are third-party entities the government can obtain a court order to obtain the information it seeks. This is important under the Fourth Amendment as this amendment allows the government to issue a grand jury subpoena compelling the disclosure of information and property, even that protected by “reasonable expectation of privacy.” If the third-party is in possession of the materials, the government may subpoena the materials from the third-party without obtaining a warrant. The third reason is that the ISP provider is usually a private entity, under the private search doctrine, the Fourth Amendment is “wholly inapplicable to a search or seizure, even an unreasonable one, affected by a private individual not acting as an agent of the Government or with the participation or knowledge of any Government
When a person uses the internet their information is stored by their service provider, this raised questions as to Forth Amendment rights of the user. The Supreme Court has held that the Fourth Amendment does not protect information held by third parties, such as internet service providers (ISP), as illustrated in Smith v. Maryland in which the issue was if the installation and use of a pen register constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Another issue is, since internet service providers (ISP) are third-party entities the government can obtain a court order to obtain the information it seeks. This is important under the Fourth Amendment as this amendment allows the government to issue a grand jury subpoena compelling the disclosure of information and property, even that protected by “reasonable expectation of privacy.” If the third-party is in possession of the materials, the government may subpoena the materials from the third-party without obtaining a warrant. The third reason is that the ISP provider is usually a private entity, under the private search doctrine, the Fourth Amendment is “wholly inapplicable to a search or seizure, even an unreasonable one, affected by a private individual not acting as an agent of the Government or with the participation or knowledge of any Government