Congress, at Last Minute, Drops Requirement to Obtain Warrant to Monitor Email

allgov.com ^ | 26DEC12 | Noel Brinkerhoff

[bayouranger]

The federal government will continue to access Americans’ emails without a warrant, after the U.S. Senate dropped a key amendment to legislation now headed to the White House for approval.

Last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved an amendment attached to the Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act (which deals with publishing users’ Netflix information on Facebook pages) that would have required federal law enforcement to obtain a warrant before monitoring email or other data stored remotely (i.e., the cloud).

The Senate was set to approve the video privacy bill along with the email amendment, which would have applied to a different law, the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. But then senators decided for reasons unknown to drop the amendment.

Currently, the government can collect emails and other cloud data without a warrant as long as the content has been stored on a third-party server for 180 days or more. Federal agents need only demonstrate that they have “reasonable grounds to believe” the information would be useful in an investigation.

[bayouranger]

I also noticed that one of my hotmail accounts is inaccessible past the login homepage. Cute, immature & pathetic behavior by juveniles who've realized that their parents aren't home at the present time.

[yldstrk]

you are a total idiot if you put anything criminal in an email, many of them are discoverable in litigation. so yeah, don’t curse out your enemies or put anything OTHER THAN WHAT YOU DO WANT A RECORD OF. IT WORKS GREAT FOR THAT.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I thought the ACLU Party would never ever stand for something like this. That it was the GOP who got these wild hairs about opening the doors to gummit spying.

I guess when you actually GOT the power, all principles fly out the window.

[chessplayer]

Forward!

[CountryClassSF]

My guess is this story won’t make the local paper

[CPO retired]

The communist/Marxist principle is to get power by any means, especially deception. Dr. M. Scott Peck said that deception is the hallmark of evil.

I think that David Horowitz would agree with this.

[G Larry]

Seems a conservative dictator is the only solution.

Can’t count on any spine from our “Republican” majority.

Where are all those anti-Romney bigots, who told us Congress would keep Obama in check?

[Wolfie]

I’m just glad they’re aware that we’re in a war with the radical moose-limbs and that this kind of thing is necessary to keep the Homeland safe.

[bayouranger]

"It's Cute That Janet Napolitano Avoids Email So Nobody Can Catch Her Breaking the Law" Tim Cavanaugh|Sep. 28, 2012 6:53 pm Janet Napolitano barely staying awake. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, claimed in an interview today that she doesn't use email. Worse, the Homeland Security Department's chief executive tried to use this claim as a laugh line. "Don't laugh but I don't use email at all," Napolitano said during a panel at, of all things, a Cybersecurity Summit hosted by National Journal and Government Executive. When asked for an explanation for that perverse habit, Napolitano said, "For a whole host of reasons."

[SandRat]

If the government is reading this then I hope they can understand Italian hand signs. [With Clenched Fist, Arm bent at elbow and thrust upward, as bent elbow is slapped with the palm of the other hand.]

[TurboZamboni]

The gubmint is free to listen to your phone calls and read your emails ...since these were not around at the time the 4th Amendment was incorporated. (wearing my leftard hat)

And apparently that’s how The Regime reads it:

Justice Department Expands Hunt for Data on Cellphones
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/justice-department-expands-hunt-for-data-on-cellphones/

Obama’s NSA eavesdropping goes beyond that of Bush... after campaigning on the promise of: “ No warrantless wiretaps if you elect me!”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9845595-7.html

headlines read:” NSA Exceeds Legal Limits In Eavesdropping Program” , “ U.S. phone intercepts go beyond legal limits” , and “NSA Found Improperly Spying on Americans”.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985123667923961.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE53F09820090416

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/justice-dept-nsa-improperly-spied-americans/

[RitchieAprile]

Shes’s with the zips?

[xrmusn]

Where are all those anti-Romney bigots, who told us Congress would keep Obama in check?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I agree with your statement etc BUT

Where are the Romney types that said the ONLY one possible to beat BO was Romney BUT whether he won or not WE would be able to take over the Senate - As long as Romney was the candidate.

I was very anti Romney and I did reluctantly vote for him but he definitely was NOT my choice.

As we all know, we not only didn’t win the top spot, we LOST ground in the Senate AND the House - probably very lucky ‘we’ didn’t lose that either but with the ‘great’ job Boner is doing does it matter we have the majority?

[Nebr FAL owner]

Get digital encryption people ! Use a old computer that is not hooked up to the internet as your crypto machine . Encrypt on this machine ,download to a flashdrive send message as a attachment in a e-mail , then when you recieve confirmation that message was received delete everything from the flashdrive. Encrypt everything from knock knock jokes to aunt Mary’s casserole recipe, just to give the DHS types a headache.