Appeals Court OKs Warrantless Wiretapping

Wired

The federal government may spy on Americans’ communications without warrants and without fear of being sued, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a decision reversing the first and only case that successfully challenged President George W. Bush’s once-secret Terrorist Surveillance Program.

“This case effectively brings to an end the plaintiffs’ ongoing attempts to hold the executive branch responsible for intercepting telephone conversations without judicial authorization,” a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote. (.pdf)

The case concerned a lower court decision in which two American attorneys — who were working with the now-defunct al-Haramain Islamic Foundation — were awarded more than $20,000 each in damages and their lawyers $2.5 million in legal fees after a tortured legal battle where they proved they were spied on without warrants.-[Full Article]

FBI urges Congress to expand Internet wiretapping

Raw Story

The FBI urged members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security on Thursday to update the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and make it easier for authorities to eavesdrop on Internet.

The act was passed in 1994 and requires telecommunication companies to design their equipment and services to ensure that law enforcement and national security officials can monitor telephone and other communications whenever necessary...

[Full Article]

Feds To Seek More Extensive Internet Eavesdropping Authority

U.S. Tries to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally...

[Full Article]


Related Articles:

U.S. Wants Broader Internet Wiretap Authority

Feds Seek Broader Internet Eavesdropping Rights
Obama Admin Wants Congress to Force All Online Services to be Wiretap-Able, Including Social Networks

U.S. Works To Make Internet Wiretaps Easier

[Webmaster - In reality, they are probably already doing what they say they "want" to do.]

EPIC: Google May Have Broken Wiretap Law

If Google wanted to create a quick buzz around its new social networking service, it's certainly accomplished that. Last week, when the Web giant automatically signed up millions of Gmail users for its new Buzz social network, much of the Internet was sent into a privacy tizzy...

Obama Attorneys Argue For Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking

This is not change that privacy advocates can believe in.

A US appeals court began weighing Friday whether police should be allowed to track citizens through their cellphones without first obtaining a warrant...