Discuss e-mail in terms of evidence collection

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The 1986 act also extended the prohibition against interceptions to e-mail, though with slightly different rules. For one thing, the statutory exclusionary rule for unlawfully intercepted telephone conversations does not apply to e-mail. Also, an e-mail may be intercepted as part of the investigation of any federal felony and may be procured by a wider range of federal officials. Parts of the 1986 act, generally referred to as the Stored Communications Act, governed law enforcement access to e-mail stored for the recipient in an Internet service provider (ISP). To access a stored e-mail message less than six months old, the government must obtain a search warrant. For older messages, the ISP may be forced to provide access through a subpoena or court order. Under these provisions, it was generally easier for the government to gain access to stored e-mail than to intercept it during transmission.