In countless polls and surveys Americans have expressed overwhelming concern about their privacy. A Wall Street Journal poll conducted at the end of last year indicated that Americans were more concerned in the new millennium about loss of personal privacy than things like terrorism, crime or even the economy. In short, anything in digital format that the person or his ISP have stored. Essentially a personal computer stuffed with specialized software, Carnivore represents a new twist in the federal government's fight to sustain its snooping powers in the Internet age. But in employing the system, which can scan millions of e-mails a second, the FBI has upset privacy advocates and some in the computer industry.
Experts say the system opens a thicket of unresolved legal issues and privacy concerns.
When Carnivore is placed with an Internet service provider, it not only scans all incoming and outgoing e-mails for messages associated with the target of a criminal probe but while the system is plugged into the ISP's network, it is controlled solely by the law enforcement agency. In a traditional wiretap, the tap is physically placed and maintained by a telephone company. The unbridled uses of these technologies cry out for Congressional attention if Fourth Amendment rights are to be preserved in the digital age. Revelations about the Carnivore program also prompted calls for disclosure from lawmakers concerned about privacy. Carnivore represents a tremendous loss of personal privacy.