------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 19:10:08 -0400 (EDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Urgent Action Item: Help Kill the Carnivore!
From: Libertarian Party Announcements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Send reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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URGENT ACTION ITEM!
FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
===============================================
Watergate Office Building
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For information about the party: (800) ELECT-US
===============================================
July 22, 2000
===============================================
Congress agrees to hold hearing on Monday
in response to public outrage over FBI's e-mail spy scheme
Immediate action required: Help us Kill the Carnivore!
On July 14 we issued a press release about an FBI cybersnooping
device code-named Carnivore, which can scan millions of e-mails per
second. Because Carnivore has unlimited power to spy on almost everyone
with an e-mail account, it may be the biggest threat to your digital
privacy ever.
Almost immediately after the existence of this project was
disclosed in a July 11 Wall Street Journal article, public outrage
began to mount -- and now Congress has been pressured into holding
hearings on Carnivore.
To capitalize on Monday's hearing before a House Judiciary
Committee panel, the Libertarian Party has launched a campaign to "Kill
the Carnivore"!
Politicians on Capitol Hill may be planning to mollify the
public by starting an "investigation" into the system, but that's not
enough: We want to stop the Carnivore in its tracks and kill it --
before it devours your privacy.
Please read this e-mail and *IMMEDIATELY* take the action
below. Then forward this e-mail to friends, and ask them to do the
same.
BACKGROUND: Carnivore is a hardware-software device that the
FBI secretly developed at its lab in Quantico, Va. Dubbed Carnivore
because of its ability to find "the meat" among millions of e-mails,
Carnivore scans every incoming and outgoing e-mail message on a network
looking for telltale words or names, and saves those messages for later
retrieval by law enforcement. Carnivore can also track instant
messages, visits to websites, and Internet relay chat sessions.
The FBI admits that Carnivore will scan millions of e-mail
messages from innocent people to find a tiny number of messages from
people suspected of crimes. That's no different than if the FBI opened
everyone's mail hoping to find a letter from a criminal, or listened in
on everyone's phone calls just in case a crime was being discussed.
Though Carnivore's existence was just publicly revealed, the
FBI has already installed the device at dozens of Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) around the country, and claims it has used it "fewer
than 50 times" so far. In many cases, the FBI keeps the device in a
locked cage on the ISP's premises, with agents making daily visits to
retrieve the captured data.
Many ISPs have refused to allow the FBI to install Carnivore,
citing concerns that the privacy of all their customers could be
violated. But earlier this year, a federal judge ruled against one such
ISP, leaving it no choice but to allow the FBI access to its system.
Predictably, the FBI promises to limit surveillance to messages
from suspected hackers, terrorists, or drug dealers. But considering
that this is the same agency that quietly inserted "roving telephone
tap" authority into federal law and illegally turned over confidential
personnel files to the Clinton White House, you shouldn't be expected
to trust it with your confidential e-mails.
But Carnivore is more than a threat to your ordinary e-mail
correspondence -- it also gives government bureaucrats the ability to
spy on your online banking transactions, because it has the ability to
monitor all digital communications. The bottom line is that your
privacy won't be protected as long as Carnivore is on the loose.
At this point, no legislation to eliminate Carnivore has been
proposed -- but with your help we can change that. Keep in mind that
the Libertarian Party kicked off its campaign to kill the FDIC's "Know
Your Customer" bank spy scheme last year before any legislation
existed. But once we informed the public about this threat to their
financial privacy, they swung into action and demanded an immediate end
to the program. Americans flooded Capitol Hill with over 300,000 angry
e-mails and phone calls, and within weeks, Know Your Customer was
withdrawn.
We believe that once Americans learn about Carnivore's
outrageous assault on their electronic privacy, they will demand
legislation to abolish it as well.
That's why we're asking you to join the "Kill the Carnivore"
campaign!
WHAT TO DO:
Call the Congressional switchboard, toll free, at 1-888-449-
3511. If that number is busy try 202-225-3121 or 202-224-3121. Then ask
to speak to the office of your Congressional representative. The
switchboard is open 24 hours, and most House offices have voice mail,
so please make the call as soon as you get this message.
WHAT TO SAY:
(1) Identify yourself and let them know you are a voter in
their district. Leave your name, address, complete with ZIP code, and
phone number. Please be brief, especially if you are leaving a message.
(2) Let them know that you're calling in response to Monday's
hearing on the FBI's Carnivore e-mail spy scheme. (The hearing is being
held by the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the
Constitution.) Tell them that Carnivore poses an immediate threat to
your e-mail privacy and that you want it abolished. Specifically, ask
your representative to personally sponsor or co-sponsor legislation to
abolish the FBI's Carnivore program now! Insist that you do *not* want
an investigation, or Congressional hearings, or a "blue ribbon"
commission -- you want to Kill the Carnivore now!
(3) Ask them to write you a letter spelling out their position
on Carnivore, and detailing what they intend to do.
One more thing: Please forward this e-mail to friends, and ask
them to call their representative, too.
Thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
Steve Dasbach
National Director
Libertarian Party
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