Hm, maybe someone could just check out the article (Sat Jul 17 NYT p. 7). This is a distinctly different interpretation. I already looked at the article. It didn't say much. But I tend to agree with Shari Steele's explanation, and in fact posted a similar analysis to comp.org.eff.talk. Here's what I said: Without more detail than appeared in the NY Times article (and yes, I did go and check it, too), it's impossible to say what that bill really means. But I strongly suspect that it's less of a change than one might think The government already has the right to conduct wiretaps against non- Americans without benefit of a court order. See the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (50 USC 1801, if memory serves). Conversely, the prohibitions against eavesdropping on Americans under that act are quite strict, to the point of requiring destruction of any inadvertent recordings that would not be acceptable under the law. My reading of the NY Times squib is that they are simply bringing another form of intelligence-gathering under the rubric of the FISA, rather than just using it for electronic surveillance. Note: I'm not saying I approve of the new action -- but it doesn't seem to be as big a departure from current practice as one might think. --Steve Bellovin