Leahy stayed as Judiciary chairman to push email privacy bill

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said on Wednesday he will renew his push for legislation that would require police to obtain a warrant before reading people's emails, Facebook messages and other forms of electronic communication.

Leahy said that his desire to pass the legislation, which would amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), is one of the reasons he decided to stay on as chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the new Congress.

Leahy had the opportunity to take over the powerful Appropriations Committee after the death of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), but turned it down.

ECPA, which Congress passed in 1986, only requires police to obtain a subpoena, issued without a judge's approval, to read emails that have been opened or that are more than 180 days old.

Leahy argued that electronic documents should receive the same level of legal protection as physical documents.

But he predicted that passing the privacy legislation this year will not be easy.

"It is going to be a fight. But I think people are realizing they don't have to give up their ability to use the Internet while at the same time guarding their freedom," Leahy said in a speech at Georgetown University Law Center.

He tried to attach his email privacy measure to a video deregulation bill last year, but Republicans expressed concern that the requirement would hamper police investigations.

In his speech, Leahy also expressed concern about the new search feature Facebook unveiled on Tuesday, saying it will allow users to "check back and find things about everybody." 

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