By Ellen Nakashima
[washingtonpost.com] The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to
compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet
activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant
to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.
(FBI access to e-mail and web records raises fears)
The administration wants to add just four words — "electronic
communication transactional records" — to a list of items that the law
says the FBI may demand without a judge’s approval. Government lawyers
say this category of information includes the addresses to which an
Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was sent and
received; and possibly a user’s browser history. It does not include,
the lawyers hasten to point out, the "content" of e-mail or other
Internet communication. (more on washingtonpost.com)
