Whoa. This is a disturbing piece. The US government is basically saying screw programs like Carnivore and just make email open season for searching.
From The Reg:
On October 8, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati granted the government’s request for a full-panel hearing in United States v. Warshak case centering on the right of privacy for stored electronic communications. At issue is whether the procedure whereby the government can subpoena stored copies of your email - similar to the way they could simply subpoena any physical mail sitting on your desk - is unconstitutionally broad.
This appears to be more than a mere argument in support of the constitutionality of a Congressional email privacy and access scheme. It represents what may be the fundamental governmental position on Constitutional email and electronic privacy - that there isn’t any. What is important in this case is not the ultimate resolution of that narrow issue, but the position that the United States government is taking on the entire issue of electronic privacy. That position, if accepted, may mean that the government can read anybody’s email at any time without a warrant.
Ah there it is. Those pesky warrants again.
Hmmm.
For those of you out there that don’t already use email crypto, you might want to consider it. That or rely on email services from companies such as Hushmail.com.
Tags: Email Privacy, US Gov Email Snooping, Warrantless Email Search, Email Subpoenas
