(Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986) Signed into law in 1986, the ECPA extends legal protection against wiretapping and other forms of unauthorized interception to e-mail, cellular telephones, pagers, computer transmissions and communications provided by private communication carriers. It also explicitly allows employers to monitor communications by employees using the employers' equipment. For more information, visit www.usiia.org/legis/ecpa.html and www.eff.org.