CNET posted a story yesterday that should strike fear into the hearts of all Americans.
According to the story, on Wednesday FBI Director Robert Mueller
suggested to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee that the
FBI "should have a broad 'omnibus' authority to conduct monitoring and
surveillance of private-sector networks" along with their current plan
to "monitor traffic on federal-government networks".
This is a very scary proposition. As the article explains...
If any omnibus Internet-monitoring proposal became law, it could
implicate the Fourth Amendment's guarantee of freedom from unreasonable
searches and seizures. In general, courts have ruled that police need
search warrants to obtain the content of communication, and the federal
Wiretap Act created "super warrant" wiretap orders that require
additional steps and judicial oversight.
In addition, it's unclear whether "illegal activity" would be
limited to responding to denial-of-service attacks and botnets, or
would also include detecting other illegal activities, such as online
gambling, the distribution of "obscene" images of adults engaged in
sexual acts, or selling drugs without a license.
Basically, what Mueller
is suggesting is blanket surveillance of the internet activities of all Americans.
Now, the point that naturally (and often rightfully) gets raised
during discussions such as this is, "if you aren't doing anything
wrong, what do you have to fear?"
Sorry, but that doesn't hold water in this discussion. This is a
matter of personal privacy, and unless you are Paris Hilton, most
people have a few personal matters that want to keep to themselves.
The beauty of the Internet is the power it gives individuals to
privately research and discuss issues they might not want to publicly
admit. Not to mention the ability for individuals to escape
persecution, or prosecution, from antiquated laws.
For instance, did you know it is technically illegal to own more than six vibrators in Texas? It's true.
And let's not even discuss the implications this could have for
honest sports gamblers in America who try to sign up at a website
operated by a company operating legally in its own jurisdiction. Too
bad. You are breaking the law. Go to jail.
Finally, and the most scary implication, is the opportunity it would
give the FBI to abuse the information they glean off the Internet.
Here is a "for instance"...
What if you had a high school friend that used to sell you weed in
university and now has evolved to be a major law enforcement target. In
the meantime, you have gotten married and have kids and a good job, but
you also spend a suspicious amount of time browsing gay porn. What
would you do if the FBI told you that you could either testify against
your old friend, or they will expose all of your Internet habits?
OK, maybe you have no love for homosexuals and can't see how that
situation is bad. Well, what if they found out you were browsing sites
looking for info on herpes and genital warts, and that you bought some
Valtrex online - possibly without telling your wife? Would you want to
deal with that situation?
Think that would never happen? Maybe you should take a look at the
FBI's history while J. Edgar Hoover was running the show. And he didn't
have access to one tenth of the amount of information he could amass
today by monitoring people's Internet habits.
No matter how you look at it, the American system of requiring
search warrants to monitor communications isn't perfect, but it is the
best way to ensure your rights are protected.