Domestic spying
[Senate bill
rewrite lets
feds read your
e-mail without
warrants:
Proposed law
scheduled for a
vote next week
originally
increased
Americans'
e-mail privacy.
Then law
enforcement
complained. Now
it increases
government
access to e-mail
and other
digital files by
Declan McCullagh]
"A Senate
proposal touted
as protecting
Americans'
e-mail privacy
has been quietly
rewritten,
giving
government
agencies more
surveillance
power than they
possess under
current law,
CNET has
learned.
Patrick Leahy,
the influential
Democratic
chairman of the
Senate Judiciary
Committee, has
dramatically
reshaped his
legislation in
response to law
enforcement
concerns,
according to
three
individuals who
have been
negotiating with
Leahy's staff
over the
changes. A vote
on his bill,
which now
authorizes
warrantless
access to
Americans'
e-mail, is
scheduled for
next week.
Revised bill
highlights[:]
✭ Grants
warrantless
access to
Americans'
electronic
correspondence
to over 22
federal
agencies. Only a
subpoena is
required, not a
search warrant
signed by a
judge based on
probable cause.
✭ Permits state
and local law
enforcement to
warrantlessly
access
Americans'
correspondence
stored on
systems not
offered "to the
public,"
including
university
networks.
✭ Authorizes any
law enforcement
agency to access
accounts without
a warrant -- or
subsequent court
review -- if
they claim
"emergency"
situations
exist.
✭ Says providers
"shall notify"
law enforcement
in advance of
any plans to
tell their
customers that
they've been the
target of a
warrant, order,
or subpoena.
✭ Delays
notification of
customers whose
accounts have
been accessed
from 3 days to
"10 business
days." This
notification can
be postponed by
up to 360
days..."
Re 13:17
Full text:
Senate bill
rewrite lets
feds read your
e-mail without
warrants
