OVERNIGHT TECH: Senate bill would require warrant for email snooping

The Lede: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced legislation on Thursday that would require police to obtain a warrant before seizing emails or other forms of digital communication.

The move is Leahy’s latest attempt to enhance the protections of the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). 

{mosads}He is looking to attach the legislation to a video privacy bill that passed the House last year.

Republicans asked for more time to consider the legislation, and Leahy plans to bring the bill up for a markup next Thursday.

Congress granted only limited privacy protections to electronic communications when it passed the ECPA in 1986. But since then, Internet access and email usage has become much more widespread, and civil-liberties advocates argue that emails and Facebook messages should receive the same protection as physical letters. 

The House bill, H.R. 2471, would allow Facebook users to opt in to automatically share which videos they have watched on Netflix.

Currently, Facebook users can choose to automatically reveal which songs they listen to and which articles they read. But the Video Privacy Protection Act bans the sharing of any video history information without written consent by the consumer or a warrant from the police.

The change in the privacy law is Netflix’s top lobbying priority in Washington.

Lamar Smith expected to drop high-skilled immigration bill: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is expected to drop a high-skilled immigration bill on Friday that would create two new visa categories aimed at keeping foreign-born graduates in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields in the United States, according to two people familiar with the matter. 

The bill would create one visa category for recipients of master’s degrees in a STEM field and the other category would be dedicated to Ph.D. graduates in a STEM field. The visas created in the bill would be permanent and the two categories will each include a different set of criteria for people to meet. It would also eliminate the diversity visa program, one source said, which might not go over well with some House Democrats.

The bill is expected to be taken up in the House for a vote sometime next week. There will be a meeting with various industry representatives in the GOP whip’s office on Friday morning to gauge their support for the bill, according to the two sources. Smith has also floated a compromise proposal for his bill to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. A spokeswoman for Smith did not respond to a request for comment about the forthcoming measure. 

MPAA launches new online magazine: The Motion Picture Association of America launched a new website on Thursday that’s an interactive online magazine dedicated to highlighting the creative work of folks who work behind the scenes of movies and TV shows. Called “The Credits,” the online magazine will be updated with new pieces of content every day, including interviews, videos, infographics and other features that sheds light on work of the writers, designers and other professionals who help produce films and TV shows.

The website’s launch is another example of the MPAA’s efforts to recast its image and highlight the people who work behind the camera in the entertainment industry, rather than the glitzy stars on the red carpet. Check it out here: www.TheCredits.org

In Case You Missed It:

Chinese telecom giants call espionage claims ‘unsubstantiated’ 

Republicans push to sell off government airwaves 

GOP Rep. Rogers unsatisfied with Huawei and ZTE’s testimonies on ties to China 

Google: Violence required taking down anti-Islam video in Egypt, Libya