Packet Sniffers and Privacy: Why the No-Suspicion-Required Standard in the USA Patriot Act is Unconstitutional

Authors

• Robert Berkowitz

Abstract

The legal standards for electronic surveillance, like the underlying technologies themselves, are constantly evolving. Originally aimed at analog telephones with landlines, the law has had to develop in order to deal with an expanding array of electronic communications, most recently the Internet. The challenge is a double one: statutes allowing surveillance must balance law enforcement's need for information with the privacy rights of the subjects of surveillance and the public at large. The USA Patriot Act, passed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., is the most recent attempt to strike this balance. The electronic surveillance provisions of the Act provide clear statutory authority to intercept certain types of Internet communications without the government's having to show probable cause or even reasonable suspicion. This article argues that the USA Patriot Act thereby raises serious questions about individuals Fourth Amendment right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Recommended Citation

Robert Berkowitz, Packet Sniffers and Privacy: Why the No-Suspicion-Required Standard in the USA Patriot Act is Unconstitutional, 7 Computer L. Rev. & Tech. J. 1 (2002)