If you'd like, forward this to the cypherpunks list (if it rejects submissions from non-members). Mr. Armey told the Washington Post that he thought Carnivore was illegal. That should answer the question quite sufficiently, I think. But I might as well add the justification: "The American people will not simply 'trust' that the Justice Department, which allowed 900 FBI files containing personal information about American citizens to be released into unauthorized hands (i.e. Craig Livingstone), will be more careful with their online privacy." http://freedom.gov/library/technology/reno3letter.asp "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." (4th amdt.) Seems to me there's no difference between my packets and my papers. If they're sniffing all the traffic on my ISP, they're sniffing my papers without a warrant. There are other ways to conduct surveillance on criminals that don't present this difficulty.