RemailNet

Dave Emery die at pig.jjm.com
Mon Aug 15 20:54:39 PDT 1994


> 
> 
> Responding to msg by nobody at kaiwan.com (Anonymous) on Sat, 13 
> Aug  8:2  AM
> 

> If you have a public reference on *any* limitation of NSA's 
> operations please post here or send by email.
> 

	There is indeed a NSA charter which has recently been published
due, in part, as I understand it to the efforts of John Gilmore.  But
most of the actual detailed operational guidelines are contained in
classified executive national security directives, most of which have
not been revealed publicly even in vague terms. 

	More significant however is the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance act of 1978 as amended and the ECPA (of 1986 as amended). 
These two Federal laws substantially tighten the definitions of permissable
national security wiretapping (and later also radiotapping in the ECPA)
which were originally contained in the Omnibus Crime and Safe Streets
act of 1968.  That is the law that for the first time spelled out the
terms and conditions under which the government could legally intercept
communications.  (All of this is contained in title 18 of the Federal
criminal code around about section 2100.) 

						Dave  Emery







More information about the cypherpunks-legacy mailing list