On October 8, 2007, the US Court of Appeals granted the government’s request for a full-panel hearing in US v. Warshak, centering on the right of privacy for stored electronic communications. The position the US gov’t is taking, if accepted, may mean that the government can read anybody’s e-mail at any time without a warrant.
This clain isn’t too far-fetched… after all, emails are closer compared to post-cards in the traditional sense of the word. Perhaps if we take the analogy further we’ll keep our right to privacy. Encrypting your emails (all of them, not just the sensitive ones) would be like putting your letter in a security-lined envelope and sealing it.
Sure, encryption can be broken, and a letter can be opened and read. But that analogy is comparable, too. You can’t just go opening someone’s sealed letters without a warrant (even if you’re the Government), so the same should apply to encrypted emails. Right?
What are your thoughts?
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