Armey renews Carnivore criticism

Rep. Armey's letter to Ashcroft

House Majority Leader Dick Armey has renewed his criticism of the FBI's e-mail surveillance tool, formerly known as Carnivore.

In a June 14 letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Texas Republican urged the Justice Department to re-examine Carnivore in light of this week's Supreme Court decision limiting the use of privacy-threatening technology.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the use of high-tech devices to gather information that would not be available otherwise constitutes a search and would require a warrant.

Armey said there is a parallel between the court's decision and the Carnivore system. He urged Ashroft to ask whether Carnivore "similarly undermines the minimum expectation that individuals have that their personal electronic communications will not be examined by law enforcement devices unless a specified court warrant has been issued."

"I believe that the FBI is making a good-faith effort to fight crime in the most efficient way possible," Armey stated in his letter. "But I also believe the founders quite clearly decided to sacrifice that kind of efficiency for the sake of protecting citizens from the danger of an overly intrusive government."

Carnivore, which the FBI has renamed DCS1000, is a system that enables law enforcement officials to tap certain types of data — such as the "to" and "from" information — coming through an Internet service provider's networks.

Opponents have argued that law enforcement officials should be required to get the same kind of court order needed for a telephone wiretap. The FBI has argued that it can use Carnivore under the less-restrictive rules that allow authorities to gather telephone numbers of calls a suspect may make or receive.