Two Republicans and two Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives are co-sponsoring proposed legislation designed to protect the Fourth Amendment’s bar of warrantless government searches and seizures of private citizens’ email content.

“The Fourth Amendment is clear: the government must get a warrant before searching an individual’s private property, including written communications. As today’s world has grown increasingly digital, that principle should apply just as strongly to an email inbox as it does to a desk drawer or file cabinet,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said in a jointly issued June 2 statement.

“That’s exactly why I’m proud to cosponsor the Email Privacy Act — to ensure our freedoms carry into the digital world and that all communications are protected as the Founders intended. Congress must pass this commonsense legislation, so Americans’ rights are fully respected in the 21st century,” Davidson added.

Under current statutes, law enforcement authorities such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) are able to acquire email content that is at least 180 days old, thanks to the now-outdated storage capacity limits in force when Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act in 1986 and in subsequent amendments. The bill has been referred to the respective judiciary committees in the Senate and House.

If the House and Senate both approve the bill and President Donald Trump signs it into law, as it now stands, law enforcement authorities would have to get a judicial warrant to obtain the email content of any age. The measure also requires email providers such as Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo! to inform customers whenever their message data has been legally accessed by the government.

Joining the Ohio Republican in the House in co-sponsoring the Email Privacy Act are Rep. Suzan Delbene (D-Wash.), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

“The current law governing online privacy standards is egregiously out of date, leaving millions of Americans’ private communications and data vulnerable,” said DelBene in the statement. “Our laws must reflect the capabilities of modern technology rather than being stuck in the past. Personal email communications and physical documents should be protected with the same level of security. This bill makes critical changes that will update email privacy standards and modernize Americans’ civil liberties.”

“Americans should not lose their Fourth Amendment protections simply because their private communications are stored with a third-party provider. By eliminating the outdated 180-day rule and requiring the government to obtain a warrant for the contents of emails and other electronic communications, this legislation brings ECPA into line with the realities of the 21st century,” Lee commented.

“Right now, the only thing standing between the government and warrantless access to all of the old emails in your inbox is a federal appeals court decision. That’s not good enough when it comes to Fourth Amendment protections for one of the fundamental forms of communication right now. I’m proud to partner with a bipartisan coalition to put clear protections for Americans’ rights into black-letter law,” said Wyden.

The proposal has support from a broad coalition of industry, activist, and civil libertarian groups, including Americans for Prosperity, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, ACT, The App Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Center for Democracy & Technology, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Project on Government Oversight, Consumer Technology Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Institute for Policy Innovation, Internet Infrastructure Coalition, Net Choice, R Street Institute, Software & Information Industry Association, Tech-Freedom, Demand Progress, Restore the Fourth, Fight for the Future, Consumer Choice Center, and Due Process Institute.