The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released 565 pages of information related to its internet surveillance system known as "Carnivore."
The documents were released to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the privacy rights organization.
According to documents posted on EPIC's website, the Carnivore program began under the name "Omnivore" in February 1997, originally run on a Solaris X86 computer. That system was replaced two years later by Carnivore, which uses a Windows NT-based computer that attaches to an internet service provider's (ISP) network to sift through incoming and outgoing traffic.
Of the documents released, almost 200 pages were withheld in full and another 400 pages were redacted, many completely except for the page numbers. The source code for the Carnivore system was not turned over.
Marc Rotenburg, EPIC Executive Director, said in a press release "We intend to pursue the litigation until the relevant documents are disclosed. We do not dispute the need of law enforcement to protect public safety or pursue criminals in the online world. But the use of investigative methods that monitor internet traffic and capture the private communications of innocent users raise enormously important privacy issues that must be subject to public review and public approval."
The FBI has assured consumers and privacy groups that its email surveillance system only traps messages that are specified under a court order.
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The documents were released to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the privacy rights organization.
According to documents posted on EPIC's website, the Carnivore program began under the name "Omnivore" in February 1997, originally run on a Solaris X86 computer. That system was replaced two years later by Carnivore, which uses a Windows NT-based computer that attaches to an internet service provider's (ISP) network to sift through incoming and outgoing traffic.
Of the documents released, almost 200 pages were withheld in full and another 400 pages were redacted, many completely except for the page numbers. The source code for the Carnivore system was not turned over.
Marc Rotenburg, EPIC Executive Director, said in a press release "We intend to pursue the litigation until the relevant documents are disclosed. We do not dispute the need of law enforcement to protect public safety or pursue criminals in the online world. But the use of investigative methods that monitor internet traffic and capture the private communications of innocent users raise enormously important privacy issues that must be subject to public review and public approval."
The FBI has assured consumers and privacy groups that its email surveillance system only traps messages that are specified under a court order.
--
read me