[privacy] No e-Mail Privacy Rights Under Constitution, U.S. Government Claims

[Paul Ferguson]

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Via The Register.

[snip]

On October 8, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit in Cincinnati granted the government's request for a full-panel
hearing in United States v. Warshak case centering on the right of privacy
for stored electronic communications. At issue is whether the procedure
whereby the government can subpoena stored copies of your email - similar
to the way they could simply subpoena any physical mail sitting on your
desk - is unconstitutionally broad.

This appears to be more than a mere argument in support of the
constitutionality of a Congressional email privacy and access scheme. It
represents what may be the fundamental governmental position on
Constitutional email and electronic privacy - that there isn't any. What is
important in this case is not the ultimate resolution of that narrow issue,
but the position that the United States government is taking on the entire
issue of electronic privacy. That position, if accepted, may mean that the
government can read anybody's email at any time without a warrant.

[snip]

More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/04/4th-amendment_email_privacy/

- - ferg

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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/