The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been found guilty of opening United States citizens’ mail to and from the former Soviet Union between 1953 and 1973. The U.S. Post Office says that it no longer allows the CIA to intercept mail, although the FBI may still get warrants to do so. Approximately 200 such court orders are issued each year, allowing the FBI to intercept private mail.
In 1976, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the government’s practice of opening international postal mail does not violate the Fourth Amendment so long as “reasonable cause” exists that the mail contains dutiable goods or contraband.
