Too Little, Too Late: ACLU Disappointed By Administration
Speech On Electronic Privacy
Statement of Barry Steinhardt, ACLU Associate Director
July 17, 2000
WASHINGTON -- This morning's speech on electronic privacy by
White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was deeply
disappointing. The Administration missed an important
opportunity to issue an executive order that would have
immediately restrained Federal law enforcement. Instead, it
only offered legislative proposals that are highly unlikely
to be adopted this year.
In his speech at the National Press Club, Podesta also
failed to seriously address the FBI's use of the Carnivore
system that requires Internet service providers to attach a
black box to their networks through which all their
subscribers' communications traffic flows. As the ACLU has
said repeatedly in recent days, Carnivore represents a grave
threat to the privacy of all Americans by giving law
enforcement agencies unsupervised access to a nearly
unlimited amount of communications traffic.
In light of the public and Congressional criticism of
Carnivore, we had hoped and expected far more from an
Administration that likes to tout its sensitivity to privacy
rights. Rather than glossing over Carnivore, Podesta should
have announced that the Administration was suspending its
use.
The Administration did make two potentially promising
proposals for action by the Congress. First, it announced
that it would support legislation to require that the same
standards that apply to the real-time interception of the
content of telephone calls - so-called "Title III Standards
- should also apply to the real time interception of
electronic mail. This proposal would be more significant if
the standards applied to all e-mail messages, including
those stored by service providers.
The Administration also proposed that judges be given
greater authority to review requests for pen registers and
trap devices. Under current law, the judiciary must simply
rubber-stamp such requests. This is a potentially
significant change, although it will only be meaningful if
judges are allowed to make independent decisions about
whether the target of the order is involved in criminal
activity.
While the Clinton administration's proposals have some
heartening qualities to them, they are too little and too
late. Congress has only a few weeks left before it recesses
for the election and it is highly unlikely to act before
President Clinton leaves office in January 2001.
Even though it has tried to persuade the American public
that it cares about cyber-privacy, the Clinton
Administration consistently declines to back its rhetoric
with action. Last-minute legislative proposals cannot
satisfy the deep privacy concerns of the American public.
The Administration missed an important opportunity this
morning and the privacy of all Americans will suffer as a
result.