Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Recent press reports confirm the roll-out of a new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) system called Carnivore, which is designed to covertly search electronic mail messages to and from targeted criminal suspects, but could also compromise the privacy of millions of Internet users. The system, which is installed directly into an Internet service provider's network, reportedly can scan millions of messages each second. The FBI recently demonstrated the Carnivore system to telecommunications industry representatives, many of whom are disturbed by the prospect of having the invasive technology installed on their internal systems and administered by federal agents.

Public details concerning Carnivore's capabilities are sketchy. The existence of the system was first revealed by attorney Robert Corn-Revere in Congressional testimony in April. He described a case in which government agents sought to install Carnivore on the system of an ISP he represented. Published reports suggest that the system could give the government the ability to intercept the communications of all of an ISP's customers, not just those of a targeted criminal suspect. Even when programmed to obtain only the communications of a suspect, Carnivore would enable government agents to intercept the actual content of e-mail messages without first making a showing of probable cause as required by the Fourth Amendment and federal wiretap statutes. Armed just with a pen register or trap and trace order, which authorizes only the collection of information identifying the senders and recipients of e-mail messages, Carnivore would enable agents to receive the entire communication.

The deployment of Carnivore is just the latest indication that legal protections have failed to keep pace with advancing surveillance technology. The existing wiretap statutes, which were drafted with telephones in mind and amended in 1986 to apply to electronic communications, do not adequately address many of the realities of the Internet. For that reason, it is likely that Congress will review the use of Carnivore and consider the need for updating the relevant federal laws. House Majority Leader Dick Armey today called on Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh to address the privacy concerns raised by the Carnivore system.

There is also a need for public disclosure of the capabilities of Carnivore and other intrusive new technologies being used by law enforcement investigators. EPIC has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the FBI seeking the release of information on Carnivore and related technologies.

Robert Corn-Revere's testimony on Carnivore is available on the following path: http://www.house.gov/judiciary/corn0406.htm

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The Electronic Privacy Information Center is a public interest research center in Washington, DC. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging privacy issues such as the Clipper Chip, the Digital Telephony proposal, national ID cards, medical record privacy, and the collection and sale of personal information. EPIC is sponsored by the Fund for Constitutional Government, a non-profit organization established in 1974 to protect civil liberties and constitutional rights. EPIC publishes the EPIC Alert, pursues Freedom of Information Act litigation, and conducts policy research.

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