Big Brother Wants 'In' -- To Your Computer
The Clinton Department of Justice has drafted legislation that would allow
federal and local law enforcement agents to secretly break into people's
homes and businesses in order to disable encryption software and computer
security systems on personal computers.
Police could also search for passwords and alter computer equipment to
secretly collect email messages and other electronic information.
The proposal - ironically entitled "The Cyberspace Electronic Security
Act" -- would allow judges to issue secret, "sealed" warrants permitting
government agents to enter private property, search computers, and install
software to override encryption programs. The government could then secretly
intercept computer communications without having to try to decode
encrypted messages.
Department of Justice officials maintain the proposal is "consistent with
constitutional principles." However, the plan has outraged civil liberties
advocates.
Normally, under the Fourth Amendment, the government must first
obtain a court order from a judge (based on a finding of probable
cause) before searching private property -- and must present that
search warrant to the suspect. Secret break-ins and searches are extremely
rare under current law; such entries are only made in order to install
hidden microphones, and largely concerning matters of foreign
intelligence/national security. Only 50 such entries were allowed by
federal and state judges last year.
However, privacy advocates fear that the White House plan to extend this
power to domestic computer cases would mean that secret warrants and secret
break-ins would become a common law enforcement tool
"Under this new proposal, a rare and little-used law
enforcement tactic might become as common as computers," warns Steve
Dasbach, National Director of the Libertarian Party. "This represents a
huge expansion of narrowly defined exceptions to Fourth Amendment
protections -- and represents a genuine
danger to anyone who uses computers and encryption software."
"This is beyond the wildest imagination of the most paranoid people who
have been following this issue over the years - it's one of the scariest
proposals to come out of government in a long time," said David Sobel of
the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "This strikes at the heart of
the Bill of Rights."
(Sources: Washington Post (August 20); Libertarian Party media release;
Electronic Privacy Information Center; Freematt's Alerts; Insight magazine;
Reuters.)
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