Snubbing the Snoops

t a gathering in March of the group Privacy International, the FBI was the big winner. The agency was given the dubious distinction of having made the "most invasive proposal" of 2000 with its Carnivore "privacy-eating snooper program."

FBI representatives tell a different story about Carnivore, the computer program that allows the FBI to read the e-mail of suspects in an effort to track criminals. The FBI can read the e-mail only with a court order. The FBI contends that snooping always has been a law enforcement prerogative. The agency long has had the ability to obtain court orders permitting agents to intercept phone calls or to tap into voicemail systems. Investigators, the FBI says, simply needed to keep up with modern technology.

News of the program broke in The Wall Street Journal in January 2000, and Carnivore quickly became a cause celebre for privacy rights activists. The Denver-based Privacy Foundation listed Carnivore as third on its top 10 list of privacy issues last year, behind workplace surveillance and medical patient privacy rules. Groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Privacy Information Center protested the FBI's decision to move forward with Carnivore.

The groups argued that Carnivore would inevitably allow investigators to read e-mails sent by or addressed to any American. Likewise, some Internet service providers wondered whether the FBI's authority to access their systems was forcing the ISPs to violate their own privacy agreements with their customers.

Last summer, the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on Carnivore, directing tough questions at FBI and Justice Department leaders. Congress took no action, but 28 lawmakers wrote to the Justice Department urging that the program be suspended pending an investigation. The FBI instead has forged ahead with Carnivore. An outside review panel established by former Attorney General Janet Reno is studying the program, and new Attorney General John Ashcroft has established a new agency position for a privacy czar.