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Politico...
Feds want new ways to
tap the Web
By Jennifer Martinez
3/7/11
When it comes to criminal investigations, federal law enforcement is
eager to get access to the bread crumb trail that suspects leave on the
Web.
In the age of Facebook, Twitter and Skype, however, the FBI and other
agencies often must operate within the constraints of laws and
regulations that haven’t been updated in more than a decade.
The Obama administration is considering new regulations to require
Web-based communications services to incorporate surveillance
capabilities in their products, so law enforcement can conduct digital
wiretaps if suspects message Facebook “friends” or conspire via Skype.
FBI General Counsel Valerie Caproni told the House Judiciary Committee
in late February about a case the agency was investigating involving a
pimp allegedly trafficking underage girls and producing child
pornography on a social-networking service. But that social network —
which she didn’t name — lacked “the necessary technological capability
to intercept the electronic communications.”
The result was “a weaker case and a lighter sentence than might
otherwise have occurred,” she said.
The administration has not yet submitted a formal proposal to Congress,
but already forces are mobilizing against the idea, warning that new
regulations may jeopardize privacy and deter innovation.
“It’s clear that some kind of mandate at the application level to build
in what’s essentially a back door is going to be chilling to
innovation,” said Leslie Harris, president of the Center for Democracy
& Technology.
Here are five social media technologies that the administration could
target:
Read the rest of the story at Politico
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