easier it becomes to do something wrong. With e-mail, this is very evident. In order to prevent wrongdoing and to protect the e-mail user, Congress enacted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (EPCA). [Pub. L. No. 99-508, 100 Stat. 1848 (1986)(codified at 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, 2701-2710, 3117, 3121-3126 (1988)).] The ECPA amended Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, [18 U.S.C. 2510-2520 (1994).]. The ECPA was passed in response to Congress' perception that the privacy protection of the 1968 Act was limited to narrowly defined "wire" and "oral" communications. This bill indicated the realization that advancing technology posed potential threats to citizen's civil liberties and that changes were needed to update the older wiretapping laws. The amendment expanded the scope of Title III to include the interception of "electronic communication" and unauthorized access of stored electronic communications. [18 U.S.C. 2510(1), (4), (12), (17) (1994).] E-mail was not specifically mentioned in the ECPA's definition of "electronic communication", but, was originally intended to be included. "Electronic communication" is defined as in the ECPA as the "transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system that affects interstate or foreign commerce. [18 U.S.C. 2510(12)(1994). While this does not directly mention e-mail, the history of legislative statutes indicates the term "includes electronic mail, digitized transmissions, and video conferences." [S. Rep. No. 99-541, at 14 (1986)].The ECPA also outlaws the interception of electronic communications. [18 U.S.C. 2511(1)(a), 2520 (1994).] The ECPA amended the Federal Wiretap Act's definition of "intercept" as "the aural or other aquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication."...
