Privacy Laws at Risk for Internet Users

From the New American:

Telecommunications and Internet companies are increasingly finding themselves in uncomfortable positions, caught between privacy laws that protect their consumers and law enforcement efforts that necessitate privacy invasion. As Internet and telecommunications services grow in popularity, law enforcement agencies have utilized them as a means to find information about individuals that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

However, there are specific laws, enacted in 1986, that govern communication privacy. The 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act established rules for information access, but they are contingent upon the type of information sought and how old it is. Unfortunately, views of the sanctity of those laws are beginning to evolve.