Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) issued the following statement regarding the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that seizing geolocation data requires a warrant:

“The 4th Circuit Court’s decision is an important reminder that government should not have free rein to infringe on the constitutional right to due process. As new technology becomes increasingly prevalent in our lives, it is important for Congress to be a good steward of policy,” DelBene said. “When a letter in a filing cabinet is protected more than an email on a server, it is clear our privacy laws need to be updated.

“With this decision – and the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Riley v. California earlier this year that required warrants for cellphone searches – it is up to Congress to finally do its part to protect Americans’ right to privacy in the digital age, and reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.  That’s why I’ve cosponsored legislation that would create a warrant standard for both emails and geolocation data. More than 20 years after email became ubiquitous, our laws remain woefully outdated. I urge leadership to take up ECPA reform without delay and I look forward to working with my colleagues to bring our privacy laws into the 21st century.”

###