Politics has always made strange bedfellows. So does privacy, I guess. Representative Dick Armey (R-Texas), the House majority leader has made public a letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in which he asks the Justice Department to reconsider using the Carnivore Internet wiretapping technology. Armey cited the recent Supreme Court decision to restrict the use of thermal-imaging technology on private homes without a warrant. Carnivore “similarly undermines the minimum expectation” of privacy by American citizens.
Most privacy and civil liberties experts agree that Carnivore (and similar technologies) should be subject to the same limitations as a full telephone wiretap, including an appropriate court order. Law enforcement argues that Carnivore should be subject to the less stringent limitations governing the gathering phone numbers dialed or received by a suspect.
Carnivore is a modified packet sniffer that examines all data flowing through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) looking specifically for data from the suspect. Most experts agree that the software can be easily modified to target specific words or phrases rather than a specific recipient.
Armey told the New York Times that “if he was not satisfied with Mr. Ashcroft’s response, he would seek a change in the Justice Department budget that would limit funds for the system.
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