FBI would gain new hacking power if search warrant rules change

[WhiteTara]

Source: reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. judges will be able to issue search warrants giving law enforcement agents power to access computers in any jurisdiction, potentially even overseas, under a controversial rule change likely to be approved by the Supreme Court by May 1.

Magistrate judges can normally only order searches within the jurisdiction of their court, which is typically limited to a few counties.

snip

Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Access Now, contend the change would vastly expand the ability of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to hack into computer networks. They say it could run afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Should the Supreme Court approve the change, it will take effect later this year unless both chambers of Congress act to reject or amend it, a move seen as unlikely given gridlock in the legislature ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

snip

“This rule change could potentially allow federal investigators to use one warrant to access millions of computers, and it would treat the victims of the hack the same as the hacker himself,” Wyden said during a speech last month at a digital rights conference in San Francisco.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/fbi-gain-hacking-power-search-warrant-rules-change-002209382--finance.html?nhp=1

[questionseverything]

1. i recommend the op because it is important info

not because i agree with unconstitutional approach the gov't is sponsoring

[WhiteTara]

2. I thought it was important that we know about

it also. Thanks for the rec and kick

[cstanleytech]

3. Actually its only unconstitutional if they dont have the warrant.

Part of this change would just bring the rules for issuing the warrants up to date to address the difficulty in obtaining warrants for crimes over the internet that might span multiple jurisdictions, now the real tricky part is going to be if they try to issue the warrants or do a search on someones computer say that is in a foreign country as US law doesn't apply say in China for example and countries like China will probably tell the FBI where it can stick its warrant.

[24601]

5. There is well-established law that not all searches require warrants. The Constitutional standard is

that searches have to be reasonable. It is also that warrants need to be based on a showing of probable cause. The Constitution does not draw the remaining nexus that would require a warrant for every search.

The most common, in terms of how many times it is exercised, is when crossing an international border. No customs agent needs a warrant to have you open your bag, or empty your pockets, etc.

If my memory serves, there are 13 exceptions. Here are some: http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/searches-made-without-a-warrant.html

[questionseverything]

6. sad times

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
////////////////////////

a warrant that can cover millions is unconstitutional period

[cstanleytech]

8. Thats a different issue the current one is that the FBI is running into problems carrying out

investigations on cases such when they are investigating a case say where a computer in New York is illegally accessed and they get a warrant in New York to try and find who did it but they then run into the problem of the person who carried it out used multiple computers in many states to hide their illegal access while it turns out the person who committed the crime lived say in San Diego.
Now thats not to say that there couldnt be better oversight on the FBI as well as judges issuing warrants because there could and should be but the FBI does need the ability to properly investigate crimes that cross multiple jurisdictions in a timely manner.

[msanthrope]

10. Yeah.....the 200 years of jurisprudence that follow means nothing, right? nt

[Eugene]

4. U.S. high court approves rule change to expand FBI hacking power

Source: Reuters

Technology | Thu Apr 28, 2016 5:16pm EDT

U.S. high court approves rule change to expand FBI hacking power

WASHINGTON | BY DUSTIN VOLZ

The Supreme Court on Thursday approved a rule change that would let U.S. judges issue search warrants for access to computers located in any jurisdiction despite opposition from civil liberties groups who say it will greatly expand the FBI's hacking authority.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts transmitted the rules to Congress, which will have until Dec. 1 to reject or modify the changes to the federal rules of criminal procedure. If Congress does not act, the rules would take effect automatically.

Magistrate judges normally can order searches only within the jurisdiction of their court, which is typically limited to a few counties.

The U.S. Justice Department, which has pushed for the rule change since 2013, has described it as a minor modification needed to modernize the criminal code for the digital age, and has said it would not permit searches or seizures that are not already legal.

Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Access Now contend the change would vastly expand the Federal Bureau of Investigation's ability to conduct mass hacks on computer networks.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-warrants-highcourt-idUSKCN0XP2XU

[questionseverything]

7. amazing this is not front page news

do you know how the votes went?

[msanthrope]

9. Badly written article.....it's an interesting issue, and poorly communicated in this article.

It allows for cross-jurisdictional searches. It doesn't make anything currently illegal, legal.

[leveymg]

11. There are blind judges in VA who will sign anything the FBI puts before them. "Go-to Judges"

Who needs that stuffy old FISA Court? The Building is a hassle to access and parking sucks in Judiciary Square.