A coalition of tech companies and public interest groups is urging Congress to block a change to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that would make it easier for law enforcement officials to surveil users in cyberspace.
“The changes to Rule 41 give federal magistrate judges across the United States new authority to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where a computer’s location is unknown,” the group wrote in a Tuesday letter to congressional leaders. “This would invite law enforcement to seek warrants authorizing them to hack thousands of computers at once — which it is hard to imagine would not be in direct violation of the Fourth Amendment.”
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The group, which includes companies like Google and Paypal and nonprofits like the American Civil Liberties Union and R Street, called the idea of allowing an agency like the FBI to hack Internet users on a single warrant “dangerous.”
“It would … take the unprecedented step of allowing a court to issue a warrant to hack into the computers of innocent Internet users who are themselves victims of a botnet,” the letter stated. “This proposal is dangerously broad. It fails to provide appropriate guidelines for safeguarding privacy and security, and it circumvents the legislative process that would provide Congress and the public the critically necessary opportunity to evaluate these issues.”
“Moreover, the changes to Rule 41 will disproportionately undermine the privacy of those who have done the most to protect it. Specifically, the proposal would allow warrants for remote hacking in cases where privacy protective technologies obscure the location of a computer,” the group added. “There are countless reasons people may want to use technology to shield their privacy. From journalists communicating with sources to victims of domestic violence seeking information on legal services, people worldwide depend on privacy tools for privacy, personal safety, and data security.”
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The group is calling on Congress to pass the “Stopping Mass Hacking Act,” which would stop the change from taking place. In the absence of congressional action, the new rule is due to go into effect Dec. 1.
Federal law enforcement officials have argued in favor of their right to engage in hacking on a single warrant. Leslie Caldwell, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s criminal division, wrote in favor of the rule change on Monday, saying it was too burdensome for the government to seek warrants from all 94 federal judicial districts.
“This change would not permit indiscriminate surveillance of thousands of victim computers — that is against the law now and it would continue to be prohibited if the amendment goes into effect,” Caldwell wrote. “These changes would ensure a court-supervised framework through which law enforcement can successfully investigate and prosecute these instances of cybercrime.”
