Surveillance & Privacy

Lawfare Daily: The Privacy Law That's Supposed To Be Protecting Us Online Turns 40

Michael R. Dreeben, Jen Patja
Friday, April 3, 2026, 7:00 AM
Listen to Michael Dreeben's opening remarks from an event marking 40 years of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
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The Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which is designed to protect users' privacy—including privacy online—turned 40 this year. On March 6, Lawfare hosted an event at Georgetown Law marking the event and featuring panel discussions with the authors of our paper series, Installing Updates to ECPA, in which experts from various disciplines reflected on the law, what’s changed over the last 40 years, and how ECPA should be updated to meet today’s realities.

On today's podcast, we're sharing the opening remarks from that event, featuring legendary Supreme Court advocate Michael Dreeben, who argued many of the landmark ECPA cases. He talked about where ECPA came from and how it evolved, how it relates to the 4th Amendment, and where the law stands now. You can watch the entire event and read the paper series on our website here. 

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Michael R. Dreeben

Michael R. Dreeben

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Michael Dreeben is a Distinguished Lecturer from Government at Georgetown University Law Center and an adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law. In more than 30 years of service in the Department of Justice, he was an Assistant to the Solicitor General, a Deputy Solicitor General, and a counselor to two special counsels. He has taught courses at Harvard Law School, Duke Law School, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security, and serves as Lawfare’s Director of Audience Engagement. Previously, she was Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics and Deputy Director of the Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier, where she worked to deepen public understanding of constitutional democracy and inspire meaningful civic participation.
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