Under the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), a
file stored on a hard drive in your home has greater protection
than information stored with a third-party. Whereas the
government would require a search warrant for anything in your
house, it can request access to e-mails older than 180 days or
information stored in the cloud with a subpoena, which is easier
to obtain. Twitter and Google are both members of the Digital
Due Process Coalition, an organization that is lobbying to
update the act. Drummon explained Google's process for handling
requests, which involves notifying users of the requests when
legally allowed, and requiring a search warrant for search query
and private information from agencies conducting criminal
investigations. "We believe a warrant is required by the Fourth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable
search and seizure and overrides conflicting provisions in
ECPA," says Drummon. These kinds of reports and posts are
important tools for educating the