Forwarded From: Erik Parker <netmaskat_private> http://www.aclu.org/action/calea106.html Big Brother Wants to Know Where You Are, and with Whom You're Communicating What would you say if the federal government was able to: track the location of any American who carries a cellular phone -- even when the phone is turned off? get access to the content of communications you send over the new Internet-based telephone systems without having to show probable cause that a crime was being committed? That's exactly what the FBI will be able to do - if the FCC gives it permission. The FBI is pressuring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand the ways in which the agency can monitor us and listen in on our private conversations. It has asked the FCC for permission to use an individual's cellular phone as a location tracking device. It also wants access to the content of voice communications you send over the Internet -- an increasingly popular method of communication -- without having to show the same persuasive evidence it needed to listen in on calls made on older telephone systems. (The FCC calls this "packet mode communications.") In the last days of the 103d Congress -- when few were looking -- the FCC was authorized to implement a massive new wiretapping law that was strongly opposed by privacy advocates. Although Congress explicitly stated that the law was intended to give law enforcement "no more and no less access to information than it had in the past," the FBI continues to find new ways to use the law to spy on American citizens. Before making its ruling on the FBI's request, the FCC is seeking comments on whether federal law enforcement agencies should be able to use cell phones as tracking devices and have easier access to the content of our Internet communications. Tell the FCC that it's time to protect our right to privacy by denying the FBI's request. -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
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