States are starting to take online privacy laws seriously in 2013.

While Capitol Hill focuses its laser on all things IRS and Benghazi, the States are talking online Privacy.

Texas Online Privacy Law Action

Last week, the Texas legislature sent Gov. Perry a bill, which requires investigators to get warrants to read private citizens’ emails.  A significant move since the bill goes a bit deeper than the 1986 federal law that guides such activity on a national level.

Maine Online Privacy Law Action

Also last week, Maine’s House of Representatives requiring warrants for officials seeking location information about cell phone users. The bill now goes back to the state’s Senate, which has already passed it, for enactment.  According to privacy advocates, each bill, if it becomes law, would be the first of its kind.

California Online Privacy Law Action

The California State Assembly also saddled up to the electronic privacy table recently by announcing a hearing on an e-mail and online privacy bill. It scheduled for June 2013. Will California finally pass this statute? Advocates in the state have been working on getting some sort of email privacy measures pushed through for a long time, but Governor Jerry Brown keeps using his veto pen.

What Does All This Online Privacy Law Movement Mean?

So what could the practical ramifications be of all of this online privacy movement?   Well, to be honest, not much in the long run. In the grand scheme of things, even if these laws passed, federal investigators still have the power to access email and trace cell phones.

But it’s not all for naught.

If enough states can put pressure on Washington to take a closer look at online privacy issues, it may get the proverbial ball rolling on the Hill. After all, governing is like a game of dominos: State laws are domino pieces falling down. When a lot start clanking to the ground and making a lot noise near the Beltway, Washington will start to act.

Technology companies and libertarians – who’ve been pushing for changes to the 1986 Electronic communications Privacy act – are eager to see these state online privacy laws passed.

The federal government seems open to working to put together an online privacy law that works for both citizens and tech companies. After all, it’s difficult to argue that online activity should be regulated by laws written three years before the Internet was widely used.

The Department of Justice recently dropped its opposition to changes in the 1986 law, and the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a reform bill last month.

Law enforcement officials don’t necessarily share the notion that cell phone location should be hard to access, though. In fact, the police were the driving force behind getting Governor Brown to veto cell phone privacy legislation in California, and they have been pushing back on any attempt to put similar language into new federal legislation.

In an ever changing world, this issue seems destined to spend its near future in the courts.    Where do we draw the line?  When we open our emails to send information to our friends and family, is it safe to express what we are feeling?  Should we resort to snail-mail for private correspondence?  What do we do if a word in a sentence triggers some red flag, on some computer program, in some stealth place?  Many open questions regarding online privacy remain and the answers are still to come.