The Stored Communications Act is a legal dinosaur. Technology has left our privacy rights in the “dust,” as it were. The blogsphere is finally outraged about the ease of government access to email. Maybe this will get Congress off its lazy ass to do something. <\/p>\n
Just a few I’ve seen:<\/p>\n
WSJ: Affair Highlights Uncertainty of Email-Privacy Laws<\/a> by Ashby Jones and Joe Palazzolo posted yesterday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Likely the Best One from EFF, of course: When Will our Email Betray Us? An Email Privacy Primer in Light of the Petraeus Saga<\/a> by Hanni Fakhoury and Kurt Opsahl and Rainey Reitman:<\/p>\n The unfolding scandal that led to the resignation of Gen. David Petraeus, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, started with some purportedly harassing emails sent from pseudonymous email accounts to Jill Kelley. After the FBI kicked its investigation into high gear, it identified the sender as Paula Broadwell and, ultimately, read massive amounts of private email messages that uncovered an affair between Broadwell and Petraeus (and now, the investigation has expanded to include Gen. John Allen’s emails with Kelley). We’ve received a lot of questions about how this works\u2014what legal process the FBI needs to conduct its email investigation. The short answer? It’s complicated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n CNET: Petraeus e-mail affair highlights U.S. privacy law loopholes | Because of the wording of an obscure 1986 federal law, the former CIA director — and the rest of Americans — receive less privacy protection than we would for love letters stored under a mattress<\/a> by Declan McCullagh<\/p>\n WaPo: FBI investigation of Broadwell reveals bureau\u2019s comprehensive access to electronic communications<\/a><\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle: Petraeus scandal reveals threat to privacy<\/a><\/p>\n Politico: David Petraeus affair scandal highlights email privacy issues<\/a><\/p>\n Reuters: Collateral damage of our surveillance state<\/a> by Julian Sanchez:<\/p>\n As the surreal sex scandal that forced CIA Director David Petraeus\u2019 resignation reveals another prominent general\u2019s \u201cflirtatious\u201d emails, the serious scandal here may well be the breadth of the FBI\u2019s power to launch fishing expeditions through Americans\u2019 most intimate communications.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n onthemedia.org: Will the Patraeus scandal be good for privacy?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" b2evALnk.b2WPAutP Continue reading