Privacy and The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986

Americans pride themselves on living private lives. They appreciate the fact that they live without being under the watchful eye of someone. However, increased electronic technology has made it harder to live privately. There are privacy issues regarding Internet Service Providers (ISP), electronic correspondences, and telephone calls. More directly with the creation and increased popularity of the Internet, people who use the World Wide Web are undoubtedly concerned with their private information being leaked. The technology allows people to track your Internet activities, steal your credit card information and “hack” into your e-mail accounts. With this increase in technology comes an increase in the level of concern.

There are many laws in place by the United States government to protect consumers. This term paper will examine one law in particular, The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. “The ECPA applies to both government and private entities, but appears to be more restrictive concerning government interception and access.” [1] The ECPA was put in place to protect individual’s electronic communication rights from being violated. Without a law of this type, our on-line world would be a welcome mat for anyone who wanted to invade our lives.

This paper will also look at how the ECPA affects society, focusing on three cases. One case involves the United States Navy and an enlisted solider. The solider was threatened to be discharged for information he had in his America Online (AOL) user profile. By going in-depth on how the law pertained to this case, and how the ECPA was applied, the reader will have an understanding on how this law works. Another case will involve the ECPA in a diff...

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...eigh v. Cohen. 983 F. Supp. 215: 1998 U.S. Dist.

[7] supra

[8] supra

[9] McVeigh v. Cohen. 983 F. Supp. 215: 1998 U.S. Dist.

[10] Rassoull v. Maximus, Inc. 209 F.R.D. 372: 2002 U.S. Dist.

[11] McVeigh v. Cohen. 983 F. Supp. 215: 1998 U.S. Dist.

[12] supra

[13] McVeigh v. Cohen. 983 F. Supp. 215: 1998 U.S. Dist.

[14] Rassoull v. Maximus, Inc. 209 F.R.D. 372: 2002 U.S. Dist.

[15] Rassoull v. Maximus, Inc. 209 F.R.D. 372: 2002 U.S. Dist.

[16] supra

[17] Rassoull v. Maximus, Inc. 209 F.R.D. 372: 2002 U.S. Dist.

[18] USA v. Scott Hambrick. 55 F. Supp. 2d 504: 1999 US Dist.

[19] supra

[20] supra

[21] USA v. Scott Hambrick. 55 F. Supp. 2d 504: 1999 US Dist.

[22] supra

[23] supra

[24] USA v. Scott Hambrick. 55 F. Supp. 2d 504: 1999 US Dist.

[25] supra

[26] McVeigh v. Cohen. 983 F. Supp. 215: 1998 U.S. Dist.