An 'Inadvertent' Loss of Privacy
It doesn't matter how carefully laws are tailored to preserve a balance between the interests of national security and the privacy interests protected by the Fourth Amendment when those laws are ignored (as they have been in the Bush administration) or when those tasked with releasing private information to the government inadvertently go too far. National attention has focused on the former threat to privacy, but the NY Times reminds us that the latter threat is just as real.
A technical glitch gave the F.B.I. access to the e-mail messages from an entire computer network — perhaps hundreds of accounts or more — instead of simply the lone e-mail address that was approved by a secret intelligence court as part of a national security investigation, according to an internal report of the 2006 episode. ...The episode is an unusual example of what has become a regular if little-noticed occurrence, as American officials have expanded their technological tools: government officials, or the private companies they rely on for surveillance operations, sometimes foul up their instructions about what they can and cannot collect. The problem has received no discussion as part of the fierce debate in Congress about whether to expand the government’s wiretapping authorities and give legal immunity to private telecommunications companies that have helped in those operations.
How often do the distributors of private information screw up? [more..]
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