E-Mail Privacy Act of 2005

The E-Mail Privacy Act of 2005 was designed to update federal wiretap laws to ensure that emails receive the same legal protections as phone calls while they are being transmitted. Under this bill, the definition of "intercept" would be expanded to include the acquisition of electronic communications even if they are simultaneously stored on a server during transit. For the average citizen, this means that law enforcement would generally be required to obtain a wiretap order—a high legal standard—to monitor emails in real-time, rather than using less stringent methods intended for stored data.