Editorial: Email privacy

Long before most Americans had ever heard of email, Congress passed the Communications Privacy Act of 1986. It mandated that the government secure a warrant before accessing any electronic communications fewer than six months old.

But under the law, older emails and the like were considered abandoned. That meant a vast array of federal agencies could examine older, private communications with a mere subpoena rather than court permission.

Not surprisingly, the IRS took full advantage of this loophole. The Wall Street Journal noted last week that the agency in 2013 informed agents they could safely pore through such exchanges during tax probes because older emails “aren’t protected by the Fourth Amendment.”

Even though a 2010 federal court ruling held that government investigators also needed court approval to retrieve older emails, the decision applied in only a handful of states.

On Wednesday, however, the U.S. House took a giant step toward shuttering this window, unanimously approving a measure forcing the government to get a warrant before compelling service providers to turn over data more than 180 days old.

The measure now moves to the Senate, where a similar bill has 27 co-sponsors.

A bipartisan proposal to reinforce our Fourth Amendment protections represents a welcome development at a time when many Americans have become resigned to the gradual erosion of privacy and individual liberties.

The Senate should move on this issue now.