Privacy experts and lawmakers on Monday criticized the FBI for using technology that monitors e-mail, claiming that it threatens privacy rights.
Electronic messages are among the worst ways to send private information.
Anyone with a little computer know-how can catch and read other people's online mail. When federal judges have provided the agency with the required authority, the FBI also has captured not just the address information, but the content of targeted e-mails. Police agencies can't be afforded untrammeled discretion, and we can't assume a lack of bad intent on the part of police or the presence of good will is enough to protect people's privacy. President Clinton knows. I don't do e-mail with Chelsea.