New Law Could Open Doors for Net Surveillance

A News.com Reuters report says: “The hour new anti-terrorism legislation becomes law, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursday that he would direct all U.S. prosecutors and FBI offices to immediately use their expanded powers to wiretap phones, monitor Internet traffic and apprehend suspects.” While not directly threatening to anyone not wearing a towel on their head, this does open a lot of doors that were firmly shut until this point. The article goes on to say, “New authority in the legislation permits the use of devices that capture senders and receivers addresses associated with communications on the Internet.” Yay.