CNET NEWS.COM By Declan McCullagh - Perspective: Ashcroft's worrisome spy plans. WASHINGTON--Attorney General John Ashcroft wants even more power to snoop on the Internet, spy on private conversations and install secret microphones, spyware and keystroke loggers. Ashcroft's Justice Department has quietly crafted a whopping 120-page proposal that represents the boldest attack yet on our electronic privacy in the name of thwarting future terrorist attacks. The nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity posted the draft legislation, which reads like J. Edgar Hoover's wish list, on its Web site Friday. Called the Domestic Security Enhancement Act (DSEA), the legislation has not been formally introduced in Congress, and a representative for Ashcroft indicated on Friday that it's a work in progress. But the fact that the legislation is under consideration already, before we know the effects of its USA Patriot Act predecessor, should make us realize that the Bush administration thinks "homeland security" is the root password to the Constitution. Don't believe me? Keep reading and peruse some of DSEA's highlights: o The FBI and state police would be able to eavesdrop on what Web sites you visit, what you search for with Google and with whom you chat through e-mail and instant messaging--all without a court order for up to 48 hours. That's if you're suspected of what would become a new offense of "activities threatening the national security interest." [ ... ] o When investigating a computer crime or other serious felonies, prosecutors would be able to serve secret subpoenas on people, ordering them to hand over evidence and testify in person. If served with a secret subpoena, you'd go to jail if you "disclosed" to anyone but your lawyer that you received it. [ ... ] "I think the Department of Justice has concluded that it wants the ability to use these techniques in virtually every situation," says Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "This is breathtakingly bad. Apart from the dramatic expansion of government surveillance authority and government secrecy, (the DSEA) transfers enormous power from the Congress and the judiciary to the executive branch and gives the attorney general absolutely unprecedented authority. This is more than an assault on constitutional liberty--it is an attack on the constitutional system of checks and balances." When encryption eventually becomes glued into just about every technology we use, from secure Web browsing to encrypted hard drives, the DSEA would have the effect of boosting maximum prison terms for every serious crime by five years. It'll be no different--and no more logical--than a law that says "breathing air while committing a crime" is its own offense Another worrisome part of the DSEA is a section that targets encryption. It would create a new federal felony of willfully using encryption during the commission of a felony, punishable by "no more than five years" in prison plus a hefty fine. [ ... ] In the past, government agencies have subjected hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Americans to unlawful surveillance, illegal wiretaps and warrantless searches. Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., feminists, gay rights leaders and Catholic priests were spied upon. The FBI used secret files and hidden microphones to blackmail the Kennedy brothers, sway the Supreme Court and influence presidential elections. It's true that our current FBI appears to be more trustworthy than the bureau during its dark years of the 1950s and 1960s. But the possibility that future FBI directors may misuse the DSEA's vast powers--and transform America into a tech-enabled surveillance state--means that we should be extraordinarily cautious about acquiescing to Ashcroft's demands. When Declan McCullagh mentioned the 1950s and 1960s he was refering to COINTELPRO. You can refer to the Center for Public Integrity material he mentions by visiting yesterday's posting. [Privacy Digest]
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