Communication is arrived at by transfer of information in such a manner that ensures mutual understanding between two parties or entities. The United States has laws that enhance this understanding through regulations that ascertain the proper and legal use of communication systems that is just to all the parties involved. The acts provide bans against any individuals who obtain or disseminate information stored in the systems to the public without legal allowance, and it is considered a crime punishable by the court of law with jail terms of up to five years (Siegel, 2011). In this paper, I will briefly give the key aspects of Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Stored Communications Act. The paper will also contain the social policies that relate to the two acts or have been directly influenced by them and their impacts on the communication and effectiveness of businesses.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Stored Communication Act are often referred as one entity of Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986.The Electronic Communication Privacy Act could at first not handle communications done digitally. However, after upgrading, the act now applies to all forms of data stored electronically. The key aspects of Electronic Communications Privacy Act include three title provisions. The first title prohibits the disclosure of any wire or electronic communication and also the use of any illegally obtained information as evidence. The second title is the Stored Communications Act. The third title handles the pen register and the trace equipment’s and requires that government institution need to get allowed by a court to install and use a pen register (Siegel, 2011)
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Stored Communications Act is the second title of the Electronics Communications Privacy Act, and it talks about the responsible disclosure of information stored electronically. The act talks about penalties being given to anyone who illegally accesses a system that provides information electronically. The Stored Communications Act shows a distinction between an electronic communication and a remote computing service provider. According to the act, an electronic service provider is entitled to provide the users with the ability to send and receive electronic communication, and the act prohibits the provider from giving out information illegally. The remote computing service providers are those who provide the public with storage and processing services via electronic communications systems. The act prohibits such providers from making it known to the public of any content stored in the services (Dudley et al. 2012)
Two social policies have been served by the acts: social media and social networking by having an impact on how they operate regarding the official and personal use of social media and services for social networking. The services include blogging, media sharing, and social bookmarking among others. Most of the social media providers allow both public and private communications on their sites and the privacy of the information may be jeopardized at any instance by the electronic communication service providers. Therefore, the Stored Communications Act prohibits any social media entities such as Facebook from giving out information of the users without their consent. For example, there is the need for upholding of the privacy of the individuals who participate in conversations in blogs. The act also helps in supporting the privacy of any records of information stored and archived in social media (Conklin et al. 2016)
The two acts of communication assist in upholding privacy which is suitable for any business entity. A business entity is supposed to maintain the privacy of its communication so as to ensure its continuity and growth. The benefits include assured protection of personal information which in turn leads to preserving the trust of the customers or clients. A private form of communication promotes honest communication which helps in supporting the good making of decisions beneficial to the business. Above it all, there is the prevention of theft of intellectual property which makes maintenance of a competitive advantage productive and managing the risk of any legal consequences as a result of breaches privacy.
In conclusion, communication is an essential element in any setting of the society and the presence of Communication Acts, act as regulators for any forms and media of communication. Agencies in the United States are the implementers of the regulations in the communication acts in any system. The Stored Communications Act is the most effective as a result of the emergence of the digital media via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter which is widely used for official and non-official purposes. The acts ensure there is harmony in the systems and prevent the occurrence of any form of chaos which is essential for the functioning of all systems in the country.
References
Conklin, W. A., White, G. B., Williams, D., Davis, R., &Cothren, C. (2016). Principles of computer security .
Dudley, A., Braman, J., &Vincenti, G. (2012). Investigating cyber law and cyber ethics: Issues, impacts and practices . Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
Siegel, P. (2011). Communication law in America . Lanham, Md: Rowman& Littlefield Publishers.
