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US Wants Courts to OK Warrantless Email Snooping
Erris writes "The Register is reporting that the US government is seeking unprecedented access to private communications between citizens. 'On October 8, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati granted the government's request for a full-panel hearing in United States v. Warshak case centering on the right of privacy for stored electronic communications. ... the position that the United States government is taking if accepted, may mean that the government can read anybody's email at any time without a warrant. The most distressing argument the government makes in the Warshak case is that the government need not follow the Fourth Amendment in reading emails sent by or through most commercial ISPs. The terms of service (TOS) of many ISPs permit those ISPs to monitor user activities to prevent fraud, enforce the TOS, or protect the ISP or others, or to comply with legal process. If you use an ISP and the ISP may monitor what you do, then you have waived any and all constitutional privacy rights in any communications or other use of the ISP.'"
Naturally. And it then follows that only terrorists would ever use encryption. It's that whole "you have no reason to hide it if you aren't doing anything wrong" argument that police love so much. Funny how the land of the free home of the brave is defended most strongly against it's own citizens by the people who are typically the most patriotic (and the patriotic people are so willing to trample the rights that hypothetically make this a great country).
Because I do not support the police state, I tend to believe that I'm not doing anything wrong so they shouldn't be watching me. That is the America I believe in, but that's not the America that exists anymore. The terrorists won, and they are working for the government.
Does this mean that they wouldn't be allowed to read your email if you are using something like Yahoo or Gmail?
Oh, wait. That's a stupid question. The Bush administration is not allowed to do something only until they decide that they are.
Technoli
I find it funny that all these people would let the feds read their email. The internet may be a public network but that doesn't mean they have the right to snoop your email. For example would you want some person going into your mailbox at home and reading all of your personal email, I bet all of you would feel that you privacy had been violated, what's the difference between e-mail? It's the same exact idea as regular mail only in an electronic form. If people keep letting the government step on their feet and get more and more power to violate your rights then eventually they will systematically eliminate little freedoms one by one. These are little freedoms so many people won't notice at first or think its a big deal, but every freedom eliminated puts the Bush administration one step closer to being able to control the people. Bush is like a spoiled little rich kid that whines when he doesn't get what he wants, and will break the law to get it.