ECPA
Government & Politics abbreviation · US Law
| Stands for | Electronic Communications Privacy Act |
|---|---|
| Categories | Government & Politics |
ECPA stands for Electronic Communications Privacy Act, a US law abbreviation.
Law of 1986 that protects wire, oral and electronic communications from interception and sets rules for government access to stored email and records held by service providers. It includes the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act and the Pen Register Act.
Example: Prosecutors obtained a warrant under the ECPA to access the suspect's stored emails.
Usage notes
Written before widespread internet use, it treated email older than 180 days as abandoned, allowing access without a warrant, a rule many providers and courts no longer follow. The CLOUD Act of 2018 amended it to address data stored overseas. Critics have long called for an update to reflect cloud computing.
Related abbreviations
More US law abbreviations
- DADT – Don't ask, don't tell
- DMCA – Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- DOMA – Defense of Marriage Act
- DREAM Act – Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act
- DSHEA – Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
- ECOA – Equal Credit Opportunity Act
- EESA – Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
- EMTALA – Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
- EPA – Equal Pay Act of 1963
- ERISA – Employee Retirement Income Security Act
- ESA – Endangered Species Act
- ESEA – Elementary and Secondary Education Act