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Feds Get New Snooping Powers

Surveillance court grants greater scope in search of terrorist activity; privacy issues raised.

Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service

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A secret U.S. federal appeals court has granted law enforcement officials expanded domestic spying powers, allowing them to conduct a broad range of electronic surveillance including Internet monitoring and keystroke logging to track terrorism suspects.

The decision, released earlier this week, overturned a previous ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) last May. That decision rejected the U.S. government's efforts to expand its domestic snooping authority.

Dichotomy Over Privacy

The move marks a decisive victory for law enforcement officials. It has, however, sparked concern among civil libertarian groups that fear the new powers will infringe on citizens' rights.

The appeals court ruling essentially tears down barriers for federal law enforcement officials conducting surveillance operations. The agencies are now empowered to listen in on phone calls, read e-mail, and conduct secret searches.

Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the decision, saying that it is a "victory for liberty, safety and the security of the American people."

However, Ann Beeson, litigation director of the Technology and Liberty Program of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has a very different reaction.

The ACLU is "deeply disappointed with the decision," Beeson said in a statement. The organization also suggests the secret appeals court "exists only to rubber-stamp government applications for intrusive surveillance warrants."

Court Slow to Action

The decision was the first ever made by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review since it was created under law in 1978 in a flurry of post-Watergate reforms.

The ACLU said it is thinking about seeking an appeal of the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but added that only the government could directly appeal its rulings.

Meanwhile, Ashcroft said he is directing a series of actions in light of the decision. Among those expanded investigations is a proposal for a computer system that will allow agents to submit surveillance applications from the field in real time directly to FBI headquarters and to the Department of Justice for approval.

That plan follows a U.S. Department of Defense project involving a new computer system that will sort through commercial and private databases and other information in search of patterns that might indicate terrorist activities. That effort is part of the Information Awareness Office within the DOD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

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