FBI seeks new powers to hack into computers worldwide, news report says

The government threat to free expression: A British newspaper, The Guardian, reported last year that the FBI is seeking new powers "to hack into and carry out surveillance of computers in the U.S. and throughout the world." According to civil liberties groups cited by the paper, this power represents "a power grab by the agency that would ride roughshod over strict limits to searches and seizures laid out under the fourth amendment of the U.S. constitution, as well as violating first amendment privacy rights."

The FBI request is part of a proposed change in its rules of engagement that critics say is an unconstitutional power grab. The newspaper quoted Ahmed Ghappour, an expert in computer law at UC Hastings college of law, who said, "This is a giant step forward for the FBI's operational capabilities…." To be seeking these powers at a time of heightened international concern about U.S. surveillance is an especially brazen and potentially dangerous move."

Under the proposed rule change, a judge can issue a warrant that will allow the FBI to hack into any computer no matter where it is located. Critics say this capability will give a green light for the FBI to hack into any computer in the country or around the world.

A link to the Guardian story is here.

Principles and discussion: This is an extremely troubling report because it expands the federal government's power to spy on U.S. citizens. Indeed, the critics cited by the Guardian find this extremely alarming. This kind of government surveillance, even if it's motivated by legitimate anti-terrorism concerns, appears excessive. As Geoffrey Stone notes in War and Liberty, the Fourth Amendment is supposed to guarantee "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches…" (xvi). On the face of it, the new FBI powers appear very broad and easily abused, which is cause for concern. Moreover, as Lewis notes in Freedom for the Thought That We Hate, President George W. Bush "secretly ordered wiretapping of Americans' international telephone calls without obtaining the warrants required by law" (151). In short, the federal government in recent years has increased (and abused) its powers to spy on Americans and, at the same time, repeatedly failed to protect the civil liberties of citizens guaranteed by the First and Fourth Amendments.

--Submitted by John Coward