NSA Bill Performs a Patriot Act
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Under the guise of reining in the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program, the Senate Judiciary Committee approves a bill that would dramatically expand the government's domestic surveillance capabilities, and usher in a new age of rampant monitoring. By Ryan Singel.
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The House of Representatives passed   a bill on Thursday that would provide congressional   authorization for President George W. Bush's warrantless   domestic spying program but subject it to new rules.
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The U.S. Congress has wrapped up its work for the year by passing a bill that would make it illegal to obtain a person's phone records without permission.
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A bill to protect companies from lawsuits for cooperating with the N.S.A. eavesdropping program advanced in the Senate.
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(InfoWorld) - U.S. lawmakers promised to push ahead legislation aimed at cracking down on pretexting despite some objections from telecom carriers and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nearly all the members of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee pledged to push the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act, which would give the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to file lawsuits against pretexters and the people who hire them. The bill would also require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to draw up new rules for telecom carriers to protect private phone records, and it would prevent carriers from sharing customer information with third parties without permission. Despite some concerns about the bill, lawmakers said consumers need protection against pretexting, the practice of posing as a telecom customer to obtain phone records and other private information. "Someone with bad intentions and a few bucks can get a hold of almost anybody's cell phone records," said Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican. President George Bush signed a bill creating criminal penalties for pretexting in January. But proponents of the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act say the extra protections in the bill are also needed. The Energy and Commerce Committee approved the same bill during the last session of Congress, but the legislation apparently was held up on the House floor because of concerns from federal law enforcement agencies that the bill could slow efforts to get information on terrorism suspects. Lawmakers from both parties complained that they received little explanation about why the bill died last year. Thomas Navin, chief of the FCC's Wireline Bureau, said the Department of Justice was concerned that the FCC would set up rules that consumers are notified too soon after their phone records were accessed by someone else. The DOJ wanted a delay of seven days before consumers were notified, he said. But Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said consumers should be notified immediately. "I don't think the Department of Justice should be listened to on that issue," he said. "I think [victims] should be listened to on that issue." Markey pointed to news reports this week saying the FBI may have violated the law and its internal rules while collecting telephone, data, and other personal records through the Patriot Act. "There is still a lack of respect for the law of our country," he said. Beyond the law enforcement concerns, representatives of trade groups the United States Telecom Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association said the bill could prevent them from sharing customer information with third parties that market complementary products. CTIA members don't share customers' personal information with unrelated groups, but the carriers do use third-party vendors to market wireless-related products, said Steve Largent, CTIA's president and CEO. But Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, questioned industry concerns about language in the bill that could require carriers to get opt-in permission from customers to share their personal data. "It seems if we want to protect privacy, we should change this from opt out to opt in," he said.
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NEW YORK - A federal judge struck down a key surveillance provision of the USA Patriot Act on Wednesday, ruling that it broadly violated the Constitution by giving federal authorities unchecked powers to obtain private information.
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Congressional Democrats and some Republicans are trying to change part of the USA Patriot Act that allows the Bush administration to fire and replace federal prosecutors indefinitely without Senate confirmation.
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Members of Congress vowed today to conduct investigative hearings -- and consider reining in parts of the Patriot Act -- following revelations of pervasive problems in the FBI's use of national security letters to secretly obtain telephone, e-mail and financial records in terrorism cases.
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(InfoWorld) - An antispyware bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week faces opposition from several groups with one side saying it's too strong and the other saying it's too weak. The Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act (SPY ACT), which passed the House Wednesday by a vote of 368 to 48, would prohibit taking control of computers to send unsolicited material to others, diverting the Web browser, modifying a computer's settings and keystroke logging. The bill would make it illegal to collect personal information without permission and it allows fines of up to $3 million for some violations. But several business groups, led by the DMA (Direct Marketing Association), sent a letter to House leaders this week raising objections that the bill too broadly defines "computer software" and "information collection programs," and it could make it illegal for e-commerce sites to recommend products based on browsing or buying history, engage in targeted advertising, or to place cookies on a Web site user's computer "The scope and impact of [the bill] on legitimate businesses goes far beyond regulating spyware and cuts to the heart of the information economy," said the letter, signed by 31 trade groups and companies. The bill could "limit the seamless Internet experience that is responsible for the widespread adoption of the Internet by consumers," the letter said. Representatives of the SPY ACT's two main sponsors, Representative Ed Towns, a New York Democrat, and Representative Mary Bono, a California Republican, weren't immediately available for comment. The SPY ACT is the second piece of antispyware legislation passed by the House this year. The Internet Spyware Prevention Act (I-SPY),Â which passed the House in May, hasn't prompted major objections. I-SPY would create penalties of up to five years in prison for some spyware-like behavior. Versions of both bills passed the House in May 2005, but failed to make it through the Senate. By requiring Web sites to get permission every time they track a users' history, the SPY ACT could make Web surfing an unwieldy series of pop-ups asking for permission, said Steve Berry, the DMA's executive vice president for government affairs. By trying to define bad uses of technology, the bill becomes overly broad, he said. "Our thought is maybe you should look at the intent rather than trying to regulate the technology," Berry said. Among the groups signing the letter in opposition to the SPY ACT were the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Information Technology Association of America, NetCoalition, Charles Schwab & Co, and the Internet Alliance. Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has raised different objections to the SPY ACT. The bill would preempt about 10 state laws that have been passed, many of them stronger than the SPY ACT, said Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual property lawyer for the EFF. In addition, the bill would take away the ability of private citizens to sue spyware creators, von Lohmann said. The bill "would actually make things worse, insulating adware vendors from more stringent state laws and private lawsuits," von Lohmann wrote on the EFF blog in April. The bill concentrates spyware enforcement in the hands of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and state attorney generals, instead of allowing private lawsuits as well, he said. "This is a terrible move," von Lohmann wrote. "If Congress is serious about enacting tough anti-spyware laws, it should create incentives that would encourage private citizens to pursue the bad guys." Bono, one of the bill's sponsors, said in a statement this week that the preemption of state laws is the right approach. "Because of the Internet's role in interstate commerce, the need for federal spyware legislation is clear, depending on a patchwork of state laws is simply unworkable," she said. "The passage of the SPY ACT moves the American people one step closer to reclaiming control of their computers in their home and at their business."
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Â· Internet industry asked to help curb illegal materialÂ· Terror bill proposes new powers against suspects
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President Bush today called on Congress to make permanent a law that gives the government broad authority to eavesdrop without warrants on phone calls, e-mail and other communication between people in the United States and suspected terrorists abroad.
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A US court strikes down parts of the Patriot Act allowing the FBI to secretly access internet records.
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Congress to try for SPY ACT law by year's end.
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A federal judge in New York struck down one of the Bush administration&#39;s new surveillance powers yesterday, ruling that a USA Patriot Act provision
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The House passed legislation Tuesday to combat the criminal use of Internet spyware and scams aimed at stealing personal information from computer users
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'Patriot' Act booster has done his bit
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Senate proposal would scale back a provision of the USA Patriot Act that lets the FBI monitor alleged computer trespassers without a warrant.