Thank
you for taking the time to contact me regarding H.R. 2471 and S. 1011,
the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments of 2011. I
appreciate hearing from you about these important issues.
I
have heard from numerous individuals concerned that these bills would
harm Internet privacy.
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Chairman of the Senate Committee on
the Judiciary, said he has designed the legislation to strengthen
privacy on the Internet by updating out of date laws that currently
manage the way the Internet is run by strengthening privacy rights that
have been weakened as technology has developed over time.
It also strengthens the need for search warrants to access individuals’
emails.
I take very seriously concerns about individuals’ privacy on the
Internet and will continue to monitor this legislation.
Representative
Bob Goodlatte of Virginia introduced H.R. 2471 on July 8, 2011. This
bill would make changes to the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1998.
Certain Internet applications and websites allow for the sharing of
third party information, such as recently-watched television shows or
movies. Providers, however, are required to have customer consent to
share this information. H.R. 2471 would allow video service providers
such as Netflix and Hulu to obtain continued customer disclosure consent
via the Internet. Customers would be able share their TV and movie
viewings through social media while also reserving the right to withdraw
this consent at any time.
The
U. S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2471 on December 6, 2011.
It was then sent over to the Senate, and on January 31, 2012, the bill
was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am not
a member. The Judiciary Committee took up H.R. 2471 on November 29,
2012, and passed it out of the committee with several amendments. These
amendments were based in part on S. 1011, the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act Amendments of 2011 which was introduced by Senator Leahy on
May 17, 2011.
The committee-amended bill would update the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act of 1986 to address new privacy concerns due to rapid
advancements in technology.
The bill would ensure consumers’ privacy for electronic communications
by clarifying the legal standards for government agencies to obtain a
search warrant to collect an individual’s electronic communications when
responding to national security threats.
Should this legislation reach the full Senate for consideration, please
be assured that I will keep your views in mind.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.
For more information on this or other issues, I encourage you to visit my website, http://casey.senate.gov.
I hope you will find this online office a comprehensive resource to
stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my
office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to
you and to Pennsylvania.
Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator
P.S. If you would like to respond to this message, please use the contact form on my website: http://casey.senate.gov/contact/
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