USA Today Editorial on Scarfo case, 8/30/01

[Bill Stewart]

On the domestic spying front, USA Today has an editorial
disapproving of the FBI's Scarfo wiretap, and an editorial response
by Edward Allen, former FBI deputy assistant director (the FBI can't
reply directly because of the judge's gag order.)  The FBI front
says predictable things about how the FBI needs to use advanced technology
to keep up with the high-tech dangerous criminals, and how asking for
technical information on sources and methods is going too far.

USA Today's editorial is on the right side of the issue, in some parts
aggressively so (yay!) though they soft-pedal the legal problems in
the FBI's warrants.   They do have a moderate level of
understanding of the technical issues, and make some nice points on the
value of open review of government activities, pointing out that the
outside reviews of Carnivore found flaws in it that were hindering the FBI.
	"The FBI's record on computer-related privacy issues
	leaves little reason to believe that the agency
	can make reasonable choices without scrutiny."
They also say, after acknowledging that Scarfo is "unsympathetic",
	"But a decision in favor of the FBI's secrecy stance would
	have far-reaching consequences - not only putting regular
	users' Internet privacy at risk, but also setting a precedent
	that could allow the FBI to act with impunity in future disputes
	over newly devised surveillance methods."