That Was Fast: Leahy Drops Warrantless E-mail Surveillance Bill

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday November 20, 2012 @09:48AM from the sees-which-way-the-wind-is-blowing dept.

Presto Vivace writes "Under the right conditions, online activism can be very effective. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy has already abandoned his warrantless e-mail surveillance bill we discussed this morning. 'The Vermont Democrat said today on Twitter that he would "not support such an exception" for warrantless access. ... A vote on the proposal in the Senate Judiciary committee, which Leahy chairs, is scheduled for next Thursday. The amendments were due to be glued onto a substitute (PDF) to H.R. 2471, which the House of Representatives already has approved. Leahy's about-face comes in response to a deluge of criticism today, including the ACLU saying that warrants should be required, and the conservative group FreedomWorks launching a petition to Congress -- with over 2,300 messages sent so far -- titled: "Tell Congress: Stay Out of My Email!""

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Oops, somebody noticed by Attila+Dimedici · 2012-11-20 09:50 · Score: 5, Insightful

Translation, "I thought nobody would notice."

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The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
1. Re:Oops, somebody noticed by Anonymous Coward · 2012-11-20 10:29 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The fact that he even considered it in the first place is disturbing on its own.