What does the Electronic Privacy Control Act of 1986 address?
In 1986, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was passed to revise and expand the electronic eavesdropping and wiretapping provisions. The act was basically enacted to promote the citizen’s privacy expectations and legitimate needs of law enforcement. Additionally, the Congress equally sought to offer support for the development of fresh technologies by assuring customers of the safety of their private information ( Regan, 2017) .
According to Rosenstein (2014), t he ECPA encompassed amendments to the Wiretap Act, generated the Stored Communications Act, and also generated the Pen Register Act. The Wiretap Act concerns interception of wire and electronic communications and that encompass any sought of aural transfer made using facilities of communication transmitted through the aid of cable, wire or other similar connection. The act applies to telephone conversations, email, and data that is electronically stored.
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How many titles are there in the Act?
The ECPA has three titles for its operations; Title1, Title II and Title III.
Explain what each of the covers of the titles.
Title I
Title I of the ECPA is occasionally referred to as the Wiretap Act. Rosenstein (2014) mentioned that the act prohibits any form of attempted, intentional or actual interception, use, disclosure or procurement of any other individual to endeavor to intercept any oral, wire or electronic communication. Title I additionally prohibits the use of illegally gotten evidential communications.
There are exceptions for Title I of the ECPA. It gives exceptions for service providers and operators for usage in a normal employment course and at the same time engaged in activities that are considered necessary ( Regan, 2017) . Also, the provision allows individuals ratified by law to intercept wire, oral or electronic communications or to carry out surveillance while it adheres to the section 101 in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Title I also provides procedures for State, federal and other governmental officers to obtain judicial authorization for intercepting such kinds of communications, and regulates the usage and disclosure of data obtained via permitted wiretapping. Arguably, Rosenstein (2014) stated that a judge can possibly give a warrant that authorizes interception of communications for up to 30 upon a showcase of probable cause in which the interception will unearth evidence that an individual is committing, has committed and is due to commit a specific offense that is listed in the act provisions ( Regan, 2017) .
Title II
Title II of the ECPA is often referred to as the Stored Communications Act. Title II offers protection of the privacy contents of files that are stored by service providers. Further, Rosenstein (2014) recounted that it also gives protection to records held concerning the service providers, for instance, billing records, subscriber name or IP addresses ( Thompson & Cole, 2015) .
Title III
Title III of the ECPA addresses issues on pen register and trace and trap devices. It needs government entities to get a court order that authorizes and the installation and usage of a pen register. A pen register is a device which captures the dialed numbers and linked information through which outgoing communications and calls are made by the subject. Title III also captures traps and traces register ( Rosenstein, 2014). A trap and trace is a device that captures numbers and linked and information from where communications and incoming calls have originated. Virtually, no real communications are intercepted by a trap and trace or pen register. The order of authorization can be issued on the premise of the applicant’s certification that the information obtained is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation conducted through the applicant’s agency ( Thompson & Cole, 2015) .
List any exceptions and amendments to the original Act of 1986
The ECPA got significant amendment by the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in 1994, the FISA Amendments act of 2008 and the USA Patriotic Act in 2001 ( Rosenstein, 2014) .
One of the major amendments to the original act that came into play is the fourth amendment act. The amendment provides that the right of the people to be secure in their houses, papers, persons, and effects. It provides the right to prohibit unreasonable seizures and searches in their premises and no warrants will be issued but upon probable cause that is supported by oath or affirmation and specifically describing the area to be searched and the individuals and things to be seized. The Supreme Court made a clear directive that the place where a search is undertaken by law enforcement officials with a view of discovering evidence of wrongdoing reasonably requires one to obtain a judicial warrant ( Thompson & Cole, 2015) . The amendment further serves to safeguard the security and privacy of persons against arbitrary invasions by state officials. Not all actions by the State trigger search and the fourth amendment protects the hinges that come with searches in which by large is ridiculed by complexity.
Summarily, ECPA provides higher levels of protection for the greater paramount privacy interests. Some of the exceptions in the electronic communications Act is the United States census bureau, the United States Bureau of Labor statistics, congressional investigations, administrative purposes, archival purposes (information has historical value), Law enforcement reasons and routine uses, for instance, external sharing of information outside the said agency ( Thompson & Cole, 2015) .
What is the rationale behind the creation of this Act?
The rationale behind the creation of the act was to prohibit a third party from disclosing or intercepting a communication without any sought of prior authorization. It applies to both government officials and private citizens. It functions to protect communications both in storage media as well as those in transit. The enactment of the law came at a time when technology was first rising. Privacy invasions were equally rising at a high rate ( Thompson & Cole, 2015) . Data and information required much protection from cyber criminals were would intelligently intercept personal information. Other criminals would easily eavesdrop on an individual private data on transit and change the contents of information or possibly misdirect the destination of the information. Some of the ways through privacy breach was enhanced was through cracking, hacking, cracking among other criminal vices. Electronic information transfer was therefore not secure. That led to the enactment of the privacy act to aptly protect the security and privacy of personal information transmitted electronically. There was a big loss in confidence of the data storage mediums as well as the electronic transfer of data ( Thompson & Cole, 2015) . ECPA was, therefore, an important step to restore the confidence of internet security and the cloud. There was a large amount of information that was left out during the fourth amendment, ECPA in place to widen the scope of security and protection of the data. In the history of the United States, one of the greatest opponents of the ECPA was the Department of Justice ( Regan, 2017) . Once the attorney general consented to a bill to reform the law, the enactment of ECPA became an easy pass and thus its formation and implementation. Information security remains a key element in business and thus need to be aptly protected.
References
Regan, P. M. (2017). Privacy, government information, and technology. Public Administration Review , 629-634.
Rosenstein, S. (2014). Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and Satellite Descramblers: Toward Preventing Statutory Obsolescence. Minn. L. Rev. , 76 , 1451.
Thompson II, R. M., & Cole, J. P. (2015). Stored Communications Act: Reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Congressional Research Service .
