FBI NOT READY TO RELEASE CARNIVORE DATA.FBI officials, in a letter sent to U.S. Rep. Bob Barr
Robert L. (Bob) Barr, Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is an attorney and a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia. (R-Ga.), said the bureau was "not presently in a position" to provide the documents he requested. "There remains substantial public misunderstanding and misinformation mis·in·form tr.v. mis·in·formed, mis·in·form·ing, mis·in·forms To provide with incorrect information. mis about the system," John Collingwood, assistant director for public affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. , wrote in the letter, which was quoted by The Wall Street Journal. The FBI has used Carnivore carnivore (kär`nəvôr'), term commonly applied to any animal whose diet consists wholly or largely of animal matter. In animal systematics it refers to members of the mammalian order Carnivora (see Chordata). in criminal and national security investigations to read the e-mail of suspects in an effort to determine whom the suspects are communicating with. The FBI has said its use is legal under U.S. wiretap wiretap n. using an electronic device to listen in on telephone lines, which is illegal unless allowed by court order based upon a showing by law enforcement of "probable cause" to believe the communications are part of criminal activities. law, but privacy wonks are not fully convinced that Carnivore meets those strict guidelines and have been critical of the FBI for using the technology. Despite the FBI's rejection of Barr's request for information about Carnivore, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno has reiterated that the government plans to sign on a university or an independent laboratory to conduct verification and validation Verification and Validation (V&V) is the process of checking that a product, service, or system meets specifications and that it fulfills its intended purpose. These are critical components of a quality management system such as ISO 9000. tests on the surveillance system. "What we are doing is reaching out to major universities to try to retain such a university with expertise in the area to review the Carnivore system and provide a report on the findings," Reno said, according to a transcript of her weekly press briefing. Reno added that she "will approve the final selection of the university after consulting with the privacy and the law enforcement [communities]." The review team will have complete access to any information it needs to examine Carnivore, Reno said. Interested parties will be briefed on the findings, and the review team's report also will be made available to the public. Barr introduced the Digital Privacy Act of 2000 on July 28. The legislation updates wiretapping A form of eavesdropping involving physical connection to the communications channels to breach the confidentiality of communications. For example, many poorly-secured buildings have unprotected telephone wiring closets where intruders may connect unauthorized wires to listen in on phone laws to enhance privacy protections and to bring them in line with technological developments such as the Internet, wireless phones and e-mail. The bill would extend reporting statutes so that law enforcement officials would have to report on their interception of electronic communications, such as e-mail. It would also block the introduction of electronic evidence in court if it's obtained illegally and prevent the government from tracking the location of cell-phone users without a court order. |
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