Ashcroft promises privacy chief

Electronic Privacy Information Center

Amid increasing concerns about how law enforcement officials are using technology to monitor citizens, Attorney General John Ashcroft told privacy advocates that he will name a Justice Department official to spearhead privacy issues.

Ashcroft made the pledge during a meeting with privacy advocates last week. Those who attended the meeting, which covered a range of issues, said the comment about Justice's privacy advocate was made almost in passing.

David Sobel, general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, noted that former Attorney General Janet Reno had staff members who specialized in privacy issues. "Whether this is going to be something more, that's not clear," he said.

Another person who attended the meeting said Ashcroft's comments about the privacy advocate stemmed from a request by the privacy advocates for regular meetings with the attorney general and his staff.

"His response was that he was going to be having this privacy person within DOJ," the person said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "He wasn't going to commit to us."

Justice officials did not return calls seeking comment.

Privacy advocates also have been pushing the Bush administration to name a privacy czar similar to the post created under the Clinton administration and held by Peter Swire.

Also at the Wednesday meeting, Ashcroft did not provide any indication about how soon he would make a decision on the future of the Carnivore e-mail scanning program, but Sobel said it is clear that the controversial system is still under consideration.

Carnivore, which the FBI has renamed DCS1000, enables agents to scan e-mail in an effort to capture messages to or from a suspect. It can be installed, with a court order, on an Internet service provider's system. Privacy advocates have argued that it is too invasive and could result in spying on law-abiding citizens.