FBI wants email privacy act to allow warrantless access to browsing histories
- by 7wData
Fixing a “typo” in a law governing domestic surveillance is the top priority for the bureau this year, FBI Director James B. Comey has said.
A “typo?” Tech companies and Privacy advocates are strenuously disagreeing with his characterization of the proposed amendment, which would give the FBI explicit authority to access a person’s internet browser history and other electronic data without a warrant in terrorism and spy cases.
At the FBI’s request, lawmakers have put forth legislation that would amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), which Comey claims now lets some tech companies refuse to hand over data that, the government claims, Congress had intended for them to provide.
The proposed legislation would do away with the necessity to get a warrant for such data and would let the government get a national security letter (NSL) instead: a subpoena that doesn’t require a judge’s approval.
The Senate Intelligence Committee panel recently voted out an authorization bill with the NSL amendment, but it’s since crept back, reintroduced in an amendment to the ECPA floated last week by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Cornyn’s on-message with the FBI. As reported by The Washington Post, he referred to Comey’s “typo” in the law as a “scrivener’s error” that’s “needlessly hamstringing our counterintelligence and counterterrorism efforts.”
If the amendment passes, it would allow the FBI to access internet browsing records without a warrant in terrorism and spy cases. That doesn’t mean they’d get at the content of email: rather, with an NSL, the Feds could access a host of online information, including IP addresses, routing and transmission information, session data, and more.
[Social9_Share class=”s9-widget-wrapper”]
Upcoming Events
Strategies for simplifying complex Salesforce data migrations – Free Webinar
27 March 2024
5 PM CET – 6 PM CET
Read MoreCategories
You Might Be Interested In
6 modern data stack trends to look for in 2021
10 Jan, 2021TechRepublic spoke with dozens of experts who said the influx of companies interested in doing more with their data is …
Data breaches: This time it’s more personal
23 Sep, 2016Summer 2016 was not a good time for data breaches. First, news broke that the Democratic National Committee was hacked, …
EU draft Data Act: Users set to get rights to see IoT feeds
28 Feb, 2022In proposals aimed at IoT and machine data, the European Commission has put forward the Data Act, which promises to …
Recent Jobs
Do You Want to Share Your Story?
Bring your insights on Data, Visualization, Innovation or Business Agility to our community. Let them learn from your experience.