By Elizabeth Katz

As Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy prepares to introduce legislation to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Brookings Institution today held a panel on ECPA reform issues. The discussion began with a keynote address delivered by George Washington University Law School professor Orin S. Kerr. Following Mr. Kerr’s remarks, four panelists offered their perspectives: James Dempsey, Vice President for Public Policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology; Albert Gidari, Jr., a Partner at Perkins Coie LLP; Valerie E. Caproni, General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for the FBI; and James A. Baker, Associate Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice.

There was a consensus among participants that ECPA needs to be updated to reflect the technological changes that have occurred since the statute’s enactment in 1986 and that legislation should leave room for additional advancements in technology. The panelists also generally agreed that it is important for any statutory revisions to balance privacy interests and law enforcement needs, although they disagreed as to the proper balance.

During the course of the discussion, panelists analogized various types of technology – including email, cloud storage, GPS, and cell phone tower tracking – to more traditional forms of communication, such as mail and telephone conversations. Participants focused particularly on the government’s use of “location information,” which can be obtained through a range of methods, including cell phone tower tracking, GPS, social networking posts, and other sources.

UPDATE: Senator Leahy has introduced legislation to reform ECPA 

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Photo of Libbie Canter Libbie Canter

Libbie Canter represents a wide variety of multinational companies on managing privacy, cyber security, and artificial intelligence risks, including helping clients with their most complex privacy challenges and the development of governance frameworks and processes to comply with U.S. and global privacy laws.

Libbie Canter represents a wide variety of multinational companies on managing privacy, cyber security, and artificial intelligence risks, including helping clients with their most complex privacy challenges and the development of governance frameworks and processes to comply with U.S. and global privacy laws. She routinely supports clients on their efforts to launch new products and services involving emerging technologies, and she has assisted dozens of clients with their efforts to prepare for and comply with federal and state laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act, the Colorado AI Act, and other state laws. As part of her practice, she also regularly represents clients in strategic transactions involving personal data, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence risk and represents clients in enforcement and litigation postures.

Libbie represents clients across industries, but she also has deep expertise in advising clients in highly-regulated sectors, including financial services and digital health companies. She counsels these companies — and their technology and advertising partners — on how to address legacy regulatory issues and the cutting edge issues that have emerged with industry innovations and data collaborations. 

Chambers USA 2024 ranks Libbie in Band 3 Nationwide for both Privacy & Data Security: Privacy and Privacy & Data Security: Healthcare. Chambers USA notes, Libbie is “incredibly sharp and really thorough. She can do the nitty-gritty, in-the-weeds legal work incredibly well but she also can think of a bigger-picture business context and help to think through practical solutions.”