US Government Can (Still) Read Most Of Your Emails Without A Warrant

This may scare some people while others may think it’s really no big deal at all. As of right now, the US Government can read your private emails without any kind of a warrant whatsoever.

See also: N.S.A. Tracked Cell Phone Locations In The World

Some think if people don’t have anything to hide that this news shouldn’t bother them. Others, perhaps the majority of email users, feel like this is a huge potential invasion of their online privacy. Given the recent negative public relations image of the US Government, it seems like more and more bad news is being revealed regarding the Nation’s leaders than ever before. If all sources are to be believed, we can’t talk on the phone in peace, use our laptops in peace, or even read our emails without fearing an extra set of eyes and/or ears there in the room with us. Admittedly, this is an unsettling time for many Americans, and many of them feel helpless and have no idea what to do about the situation.

Google has decided it’s time to do something about it, and they would like you to join them.
Exercise Your Rights And Sign The Petition
Thanks to the outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the US Government needs no warrant to peruse your emails. Google recently decided to take a stand and posted a link to an online petition from a Google+ post. If the petition gets enough signatures, it would send a serious message to Washington that they have no business reading the private emails of their citizens without a warrant. After all, as Google reminds us – if the US Government has to obtain a warrant to read the mail in your physical mailbox, shouldn’t they have to get one to read the mail in your online mailbox as well?

If you’d like to sign the petition yourself, you can do so here.
What do you think of this news? Does it bother you at all? Do you think the Government should be able to read anyone’s emails without a warrant?

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