Essentially, the bill is window dressing, because most citizens will not bother to read the full details of it. When it passes, it shall surely be positioned as a great bill protecting the rights of all citizens, but…
(The Hill) The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is pushing to fast-track legislation that would require police to obtain a warrant before accessing emails and other private online messages.
Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) goal is for the Senate to unanimously approve his bill before the August recess, according to one of his committee aides. Any opposition could delay a vote until after Congress returns in the fall.
Leahy’s bill would not affect the NSA programs, but it would curb the ability of local and federal law enforcement officials to access private online messages.
Under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, police only need a subpoena, issued without a judge’s approval, to force Internet companies to turn over emails that have been opened or that are more than 180 days old.
This won’t affect the NSA spying domestically on virtually all citizens* in the least. Which is what people are concerned over. Fortunately, the bill would seemingly violate the 10th Amendment in applying the regulations to the States. Maybe. We also have to consider that most communications go over state lines through servers, so, if you’re emailing your buddy across town, the email may bounce to another state first. But, would this be considered “commerce”?
But Grassley and some other Republicans are concerned that the warrant requirement could hinder civil regulatory investigations. Warrants are only available for criminal investigations.
Mary Jo White, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, sent a letter to Judiciary Committee senators earlier this year, explaining that few of her agency’s cases involve criminal charges. She warned that applying a warrant requirement to the SEC would impede the agency’s “ability to protect investors and to assist victims of securities fraud.”
It’s amazing that we need another law to tell the Government how to act properly. It’s not like we have a 4th Amendment or anything.
Fortunately, the Political Aristocracy doesn’t seem too concerned over the People being spied on.
*just to be clear, I don’t think they’re listening to all our calls and reading all our emails, but they are capturing them, and we really do not know what they are doing with our communications.
Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.
the spying bills all passed under Bush you were for them before you flip flopped on them.
Once again john lacks facts.
While the laws passed were based under Bush, this administration has broken those laws. That’s the issue, john -the breaking of the laws.
The moment the NSA started to listen to calls that originated and were received within the US, they were breaking the law.
And that happened on Obama’s watch and he not only approved of it, he hid it from oversight within the House and Senate.
Don’t forget john, Bush had a full Democrat congress. He could not pass the Patriot Act on his own like Obama has done with certain of his actions. The Patriot Act was authorized and reauthorized by Democrats. It’s everybody’s fault. It was a knee-jerk reaction to 9/11.
Now we are learning that despite what the Constitution tells it, our Government continues to use loopholes and non-specified actions to give it a green light to do what it wants.
I’d like to see Sen Cruz or Paul put up an amendment that would force all NSA, CIA, and FBI to get warrants.
But, I’m sorry, but what civil action would have federal law enforcement capture a user’s or corporation’s electronic data without law enforcement or judicial oversight?
Obama could walk into John’s home and steal all his stuff and John would still kiss Obama’s ass.