Senate votes to permit warrantless Net-wiretaps, Carnivore use

Declan McCullagh declan at well.com
Fri Sep 14 13:10:12 PDT 2001


Text of the Hatch-Feinstein "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001":
http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cta.091401.html

Discussion of the amendment:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/congress/2001/s091301.html

-Declan

********

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46852,00.html

    Senate OKs FBI Net Spying
    By Declan McCullagh (declan at wired.com)
    12:55 p.m. Sep. 14, 2001 PDT

    WASHINGTON -- FBI agents soon may be able to spy on Internet users
    legally without a court order.

    On Thursday evening, two days after the worst terrorist attack in U.S.
    history, the Senate approved the "Combating Terrorism Act of 2001,"
    which enhances police wiretap powers and permits monitoring in more
    situations.

    The measure, proposed by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Dianne Feinstein
    (D-California), says any U.S. attorney or state attorney general can
    order the installation of the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system.
    Previously, there were stiffer restrictions on Carnivore and other
    Internet surveillance techniques.

    Its bipartisan sponsors argue that such laws are necessary to thwart
    terrorism. "It is essential that we give our law enforcement
    authorities every possible tool to search out and bring to justice
    those individuals who have brought such indiscriminate death into our
    backyard," Hatch said during the debate on the Senate floor.

    [...]





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