Press Releases: July, 2006
Texas Judge Briefed by EFF Affirms Phone Privacy
Government Needs a Warrant to Get Dialed Digits That Are Call Content
In the first ruling of its kind, a federal magistrate judge has held that the government must obtain a search warrant to collect the content of a telephone call, even when that content is dialed digits like bank account numbers, social security numbers or prescription refills. The decision from Magistrate Judge Smith in Houston closely follows the reasoning outlined in an amicus brief from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT).
The Texas judge invited EFF to file the brief in response to requests from government investigators to use a "pen register" or "trap and trace device" to collect all numbers dialed on a phone keypad after a call has been connected. Investigators can typically get "pen/trap" orders under a legal standard much lower than the "probable cause" required for a typical phone-tapping warrant, because only phone numbers used to connect the call are collected, not the content of the phone call itself.
However, the judge found that when it comes to dialed numbers that represent call content, federal statutes require that investigators either get a probable cause warrant or use filtering technology to ensure that only dialed phone numbers are collected. In fact, according to the court, "Congress ordered law enforcement to do just that, 12 years ago, yet the court notes that the government's current practice is to collect all dialed digits without using any filtering technology."
"Judge Smith correctly recognized that the privacy protections for your phone calls shouldn't depend on whether the information you are communicating is spoken or dialed," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "Whether it's your bank account number, your social security number, your prescription refill, or even your vote for American Idol, the government has to get a search warrant to tap the numbers you dial after your call has been connected. Allowing such taps without a warrant not only violates longstanding statutes, as the court found here, but the Constitution itself--which makes it all the more troubling that government investigators have been collecting such information without a warrant for years."
In the same opinion, Judge Smith also rejected a new government request to track the location of someone's cell phone without a warrant. EFF has briefed two other courts on the cell-tracking issue, which has been a continuing controversy since Judge Smith and another judge in New York first published decisions on the issue last fall. Those decisions revealed that government investigators had routinely been tracking cell phones for years without getting warrants based on frivolous legal arguments.
For the judge's decision:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Pen_Trap/Smith_dialed_digit_decision.pdf
For EFF and CDT's amicus brief:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Pen_Trap/EFF-and-CDT-Amicus.pdf
Contact:
Kevin Bankston
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
bankston@eff.org
Judge's Refusal to Dismiss EFF's Spying Case Sets Stage for Congressional Showdown
Ruling Comes as Senators Consider Dramatic Changes to Surveillance Law
San Francisco - A federal judge has refused to dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) case against AT&T for collaborating with the NSA in illegal spying on millions of ordinary Americans, setting the stage for a congressional showdown over proposed dramatic changes in federal surveillance law.
Digital Copyright Battle Puts Linking at Risk
EFF and Libraries Support Google Image Search Against Adult Website
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a coalition of library organizations filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday supporting Google Image Search in a showdown over critical digital copyright issues.
EFF's Spying Case Moves Forward - Judge Denies Government's Motion to Dismiss AT&T Case
San Francisco - A federal judge today denied the government's motion to dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) case against AT&T for collaborating with the NSA in illegal spying of millions of ordinary Americans. This allows the case to go forward in the courts.
EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston, EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn, and Robert Fram of Heller Ehrman LLP will analyze the ruling and answer questions in a conference call at 1:30pm.
Texas Judge Briefed by EFF Affirms Phone Privacy
Government Needs a Warrant to Get Dialed Digits That Are Call Content
San Francisco - In the first ruling of its kind, a federal magistrate judge has held that the government must obtain a search warrant to collect the content of a telephone call, even when that content is dialed digits like bank account numbers, social security numbers or prescription refills. The decision from Magistrate Judge Smith in Houston closely follows the reasoning outlined in an amicus brief from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT).
Anonymity Preserved for Critics of Oklahoma School Official
Subpoena Withdrawn After EFF Intervenes
Tulsa, Oklahoma - An Oklahoma school superintendent has dropped his attempt to unmask the identities of a website operator and all registered users of an Internet message board devoted to discussion of local public schools after the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intervened in the case.
Proposed Surveillance Bill Would Sweep NSA Spying Programs Under the Rug
Bill Threatens Future of EFF Case and Other Legal Challenges
San Francisco - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said today that he has negotiated a proposed bill with the White House regarding the NSA's illegal spying program. While the final bill is not public, a draft of the bill obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a sham compromise that would cut off meaningful legal review -- sweeping current legal challenges out of the traditional court system and failing to require court review or congressional oversight of any future surveillance programs.
EFF Backs Court in Protecting Phone Call Privacy
Investigators Need a Warrant to Get Call Content
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) filed an amicus brief last Friday arguing that the government needs a warrant to collect the content of a telephone call, even if that content came from digits dialed on a phone keypad.
