Microsoft’s head lawyer asks Congress to update tech privacy law

Ron

Congress should bring the existing laws on electronic privacy up to speed with today’s cloud-computing technologies such as Web-based e-mail and online productivity apps, Microsoft’s head lawyer said Wednesday.

General Counsel Brad Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., that the 24-year-old federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) should be overhauled. Microsoft is calling for greater transparency around the privacy practices of cloud-service providers, better enforcement of cyber crimes, consistency among international laws and clearer rules on the privacy of people’s online communications…