Regulations

Electronic Communications Privacy Act

Data Privacy and Protection Law

Citation Formats

General Reference

Law Atlas. "Electronic Communications Privacy Act." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://law.interactiveatlas.org/regulations/electronic-communications-privacy-act.

APA Style

Law Atlas. (n.d.). Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://law.interactiveatlas.org/regulations/electronic-communications-privacy-act

BibTeX

@misc{lawatlas-electronic-communications-privacy-act,
  author = {Law Atlas},
  title = {Electronic Communications Privacy Act},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://law.interactiveatlas.org/regulations/electronic-communications-privacy-act},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) was enacted by the United States Congress to extend restrictions on government wire taps of telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer (18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq.), added new provisions prohibiting access to stored electronic communications, i.e., the Stored Communications Act (SCA, 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.), and added so-called pen trap provisions that permit the tracing of telephone communications (18 U.S.C.

Facts

Erathe subject's own account

Enacted 1986 (99th Congress; Pub. L. 99-508); effective October 21, 1986; signed by President Ronald Reagan. 1

Promulgated Bythe subject's own account

United States Congress, 99th Congress, signed by President Ronald Reagan. 1

Jurisdiction Scopethe subject's own account

United States, federal law governing electronic and stored communications nationwide. 1

Regulatory Domainthe subject's own account

Electronic communications privacy and surveillance. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

In Legal System

Law of the United States

United States federal statute, within the common law tradition.

Source Major Legal Systems in the World TodayRene David and John E.C. Brierley

Sources

1. Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Wikipedia)

WikipediaLead paragraph 1 (entity-description)

Quote, Lead paragraph 1 (entity-description)

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) was enacted by the United States Congress to extend restrictions on government wire taps of telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer (18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq.), added new provisions prohibiting access to stored electronic communications, i.e., the Stored Communications Act (SCA, 18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.), and added so-called pen trap provisions that permit the tracing of telephone communications (18 U.S.C.

View the Source

1. Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Wikipedia)

WikipediaInfobox (enacted by, effective date, signed president)View the Source

1. Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Wikipedia)

WikipediaLead paragraph (jurisdiction-scope)View the Source

1. Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Wikipedia)

WikipediaInfobox (enacted by, signed president)View the Source

1. Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Wikipedia)

WikipediaLead paragraph (regulatory-domain)View the Source

Major Legal Systems in the World Today

Rene David and John E.C. Brierley, Stevens and Sons, 1985In Legal System: Law of the United States

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