IP: Concern Over Proposed Changes in Internet Surveillance

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/21/technology/21CYBERLAW.html

By CARL S. KAPLAN


Significant and perhaps worrisome changes in the government's Internet 
surveillance authority have been proposed by legislators in the wake of the 
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Indeed, so much is 
happening so quickly it's hard to keep track of the legislative process, 
let alone follow the ongoing debate between fast-moving law enforcement 
experts and more cautious civil libertarians.

To illuminate the huge changes afoot, it might be useful to spotlight one 
little corner of some proposed legislation. After all, as lawyers love to 
say, the devil is in the details.

The proposed law that is furthest along in the pipeline is the Combating 
Terrorism Act of 2001, an amendment to an appropriations bill that was 
passed by the Senate on September 13th without hearings and with little 
floor debate. That legislation, which may ultimately become part of an 
integrated package of laws put forward this week by the Attorney General, 
has several provisions. Perhaps the most controversial is section 832, 
which seeks to enhance the government's ability to capture information 
related to a suspect's activities in cyberspace.



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