FC: Stu Baker on Internet search warrants, police, and privacy

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[Stu Baker is a partner at Steptoe and Johnson and a former general counsel 
to the National Security Agency. Previous Politech message: 
http://www.politechbot.com/p-03534.html --Declan]

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From: "Baker, Stewart" <SBaker () steptoe com>
To: "'declan () well com'" <declan () well com>
Subject: RE: Internet firms say police search rules endanger privacy
Date: Wed, 15 May 2002 06:03:38 -0400

Declan,

This is an interesting case.  It looks as though the court's ruling is bad 
for the government, bad for ISPs, and bad for privacy.  It seems to require 
that investigators be present for the ISP's search of records.  Since the 
police won't have the necessary technical skills, they won't add anything 
to the effort but the need to have them present will cost the government 
money, delay and complicate the ISP's compliance, and (assuming the 
investigator really is present for each stage of search) will expose the 
police to lots of information about subscribers that isn't covered by the 
search order and that wouldn't be provided to the government if the ISP 
could do the search on its own.  A true "lose-lose-lose" ruling.

Stewart Baker




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