The FBI's Electronic Carnivore Taliesin2 Sun Jul 23 12:44:42 2000 From a mail list I'm on...*p**p*URGENT ACTION ITEM! Congress agrees to hold*br*hearing on Monday in response to public outrage*br*over FBI's e-mail spy scheme*br*===========================================================*p*===========================================================*p*You are receiving this alert because you participated in*br*DefendYourPrivacy.com’s successful 1999 campaign against the*br*FDIC’s proposed Know Your Customer bank spying regulation. If*br*you do not want to receive further updates, please use the*br*unsubscribe directions at the end of this message.*p*===========================================================*p** Immediate action required: Help us Kill the*br*Carnivore!*p*On July 14 we issued a press release about an FBI cybersnooping*br*device code-named Carnivore, which can scan millions of e-mails*br*per second. Because Carnivore has unlimited power to spy on*br*almost everyone with an e-mail account, it may be the biggest*br*threat to your digital privacy ever.*p*Almost immediately after the existence of this project was*br*disclosed in a July 11 Wall Street Journal article, public*br*outrage began to mount -- and now Congress has been pressured*br*into holding hearings on Carnivore.*p*To capitalize on Monday's hearing before a House Judiciary Committee *br*panel, we’ve launched a campaign to "Kill the Carnivore"!*p*Politicians on Capitol Hill may be planning to mollify the*br*public by starting an "investigation" into the system, but*br*that's not enough: We want to stop the Carnivore in its tracks*br*and kill it -- before it devours your privacy.*p*Please read this e-mail and *IMMEDIATELY* take the action*br*below. Then forward this e-mail to friends, and ask them to *br*do the same.*p*BACKGROUND: *br*Carnivore is a hardware-software device that the FBI secretly *br*developed at its lab in Quantico, Va. Dubbed Carnivore *br*because of its ability to find "the meat" among millions of *br*e-mails, Carnivore scans every incoming and outgoing e-mail *br*message on a network looking for telltale words or names, *br*and saves those messages for later retrieval by law*br*enforcement. Carnivore can also track instant messages, visits*br*to websites, and Internet relay chat sessions.*p*The FBI admits that Carnivore will scan millions of e-mail*br*messages from innocent people to find a tiny number of *br*messages from people suspected of crimes. That's no*br*different than if the FBI opened everyone's mail hoping *br*to find a letter from a criminal, or listened in on everyone's *br*phone calls just in case a crime was being discussed.*p*Though Carnivore's existence was just publicly revealed, the*br*FBI has already installed the device at dozens of Internet*br*Service Providers (ISPs) around the country, and claims it has*br*used it "fewer than 50 times" so far. In many cases, the FBI*br*keeps the device in a locked cage on the ISP's premises, with*br*agents making daily visits to retrieve the captured data.*p*Many ISPs have refused to allow the FBI to install Carnivore,*br*citing concerns that the privacy of all their customers could*br*be violated. But earlier this year, a federal judge ruled*br*against one such ISP, leaving it no choice but to allow the FBI*br*access to its system.*p*Predictably, the FBI promises to limit surveillance to messages*br*from suspected hackers, terrorists, or drug dealers. But*br*considering that this is the same agency that quietly inserted*br*"roving telephone tap" authority into federal law and illegally*br*turned over confidential personnel files to the Clinton White*br*House, you shouldn't be expected to trust it with your*br*confidential e-mails.*p*But Carnivore is more than a threat to your ordinary e-mail*br*correspondence -- it also gives government bureaucrats the*br*ability to spy on your online banking transactions, because it*br*has the ability to monitor all digital communications. The*br*bottom line is that your privacy won't be protected as long as*br*Carnivore is on the loose.*p*At this point, no legislation to eliminate Carnivore has been*br*proposed. However, with your help we can change that. Keep in*br*mind that we kicked off our campaign to kill the FDIC's "Know*br*Your Customer" bank spy scheme last year before any legislation*br*existed. But once we informed the public about this threat to*br*their financial privacy, they swung into action and demanded an*br*immediate end to the program. Americans flooded Capitol Hill*br*with over 300,000 angry e-mails and phone calls, and within*br*weeks, Know Your Customer was withdrawn. *p*We believe that once Americans learn about Carnivore's*br*outrageous assault on their electronic privacy, they will*br*demand legislation to abolish it as well.*p*That's why we're asking you to join the "Kill the Carnivore"*br*campaign!*p*WHAT TO DO:*p*Call the Congressional switchboard, toll free, at*br*1-888-449-3511. If that number is busy try*br*202-225-3121 or 202-224-3121. Then ask to speak to the *br*office of your Congressional representative. The switchboard is*br*open 24 hours, and most House offices have voice mail, so *br*please make the call as soon as you get this message.*p*WHAT TO SAY:*p*(1) Identify yourself and let them know you are a*br*voter in their district. Leave your name, address, complete*br*with ZIP code, and phone number. Please be brief,*br*especially if you are leaving a message.*p*(2) Let them know that you're calling in response*br*to Monday's hearing on the FBI's Carnivore e-mail spy *br*scheme. (The hearing is being held by the House Judiciary *br*Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution.) Tell them *br*that Carnivore poses an immediate threat to your e-mail *br*privacy and that you want it abolished. Specifically, ask *br*your representative to personally sponsor or co-sponsor *br*legislation to abolish the FBI's Carnivore program now! *br*Insist that you do *not* want an investigation, or *br*Congressional hearings, or a "blue ribbon" commission -- *br*you want to Kill the Carnivore now!*p*(3) Ask them to write you a letter spelling out their position*br*on Carnivore, and detailing what they intend to do.*p*One more thing: Please forward this e-mail to friends, and ask*br*them to call their representative, too. Thank you for your help!*br*