Washington, D.C. – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 699, the Email Privacy Act:
“In an increasingly digital world, our laws have to be updated to meet advances in our daily lives. Today’s Email Privacy Act updates Federal law to make clear that Fourth Amendment protections apply to all stored online communications. By requiring the government to obtain a warrant prior to searching through Americans’ email and other electronic communications stored with a service provider, this bill correctly accounts for the difficult balance among individual civil liberties, law enforcement’s ability to protect public safety, and the interests of our nation’s thriving technological advances. I want to thank Representative Yoder for his persistent work on this issue and Chairman Goodlatte for his leadership so the House can vote today on another Innovation Initiative bill to ensure our laws reflect the realities of the 21st Century.”