Final answer:
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act is a federal statute that indeed regulates e-mail, addressing concerns about privacy and government access to electronic communications. It has been impacted by additional legislation designed to protect personal cyber data and encompasses broader electronic communications beyond email.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 is indeed a federal statute that regulates e-mail along with other forms of electronic communication. It was designed to extend government restrictions on wire taps from telephone calls to include transmissions of electronic data by computer, thus extending existing federal law to new forms of electronic communication.
Moreover, the ECPA has been amended by subsequent legislation, including the USA PATRIOT Act and the USA FREEDOM Act, which have broadened federal powers to monitor electronic communications to aid in the fight against terrorism and other criminal activities. Critics have raised concerns that such powers may infringe on individual privacy rights.
Overall, cyber data issues with privacy have seen increasing regulation both at the state and federal level, with specific laws such as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and ongoing debates and legal challenges about the balance between personal privacy and government access to data.