Hipocracy from the top: White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity
I thought “warrant-less wiretaps” were a bad thing, not all that long ago. So, now, without a judge, the FBI can ask for your internet activity and the ISP will have to rat you out if this is approved…but no worries: If you’re not doing anything illegal, you really have nothing to worry about, right?…except Big Brother getting to you without judicial oversight. And while I’m thinking about it: The same White House thinks it’s a bad thing to check for immigration status. Thought: If you’re here legally, you don’t have anything to hide, do you?
For those who think this is good, hang on: If you get on the enemies list, you’ll be subject to the same unconstitutional scrutiny. Stand now for everyone’s rights, or stand by to be abused in the very way the Founding Fathers planned to prevent.
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By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.
The administration wants to add just four words — “electronic communication transactional records” — to a list of items that the law says the FBI may demand without a judge’s approval. Government lawyers say this category of information includes the addresses to which an Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was sent and received; and possibly a user’s browser history. It does not include, the lawyers hasten to point out, the “content” of e-mail or other Internet communication.