New ACLU Advertisement Highlights Massive
U.S. Government Electronic Surveillance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 9, 2001
NEW YORK--From using a cell phone to sending e-mail over the Internet,
Americans' right to information privacy is in peril, the American Civil
Liberties Union said today in its latest national advertisement.
The ad, appearing in the April 15 issue of The New Yorker and the April 16
issue of The New York Times Magazine, features a large photo of a cell
phone, with the headline: "Now equipped with 3-way calling. You, whoever
you're dialing, and the government."
The statement, the ACLU said, is no exaggeration. Through surveillance
programs with ominous names like "Echelon" and "Carnivore," government
agencies are violating the Fourth Amendment, which was adopted for the
express purpose of protecting Americans from unwarranted government
surveillance.
"The same technological advances that have brought enormous benefits to
humankind also make us more vulnerable than ever before to unwarranted
government snooping," said Barry Steinhardt, Associate Director of the
American Civil Liberties Union. "Through this advertisement, the ACLU
hopes to increase awareness of the privacy threat and mobilize our
lawmakers into action."
The advertisement urges readers to visit a special ACLU website
http://www.aclu.org/privacyrights to learn more about these invasions of
privacy rights and to send a free fax message urging their Members of
Congress to stop the use of Carnivore and to hold hearings on the
secretive Echelon program.
According to the ACLU ad, five nations (the U.S., England, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand) are members of a spy network -- dubbed Echelon
-- that aims to intercept virtually all forms of electronic
communications. Its purpose: worldwide surveillance, not just of other
intelligence agencies, but of civilians.
Meanwhile, through the FBI's Internet wiretap system, dubbed "Carnivore,"
U.S. Internet service providers are forced to attached a black box
directly to their networks -- a powerful computer through which much of
their customers' communications may flow.
"Congress must cage Carnivore and determine if the Echelon program is as
sweeping and intrusive as has been reported," said Gregory T. Nojeim,
Associate Director of the ACLU's Washington National Office. "Congress
must ensure that our government does not intercept Americans'
conversations without a court order. That is why the ACLU has called upon
Congress to embark on a national legislative program to shore up the
information privacy rights of this and future generations."
The creative minds behind the ad series, DeVito/Verdi Advertising, also
developed last year's ACLU advertising series, which included messages on
racial profiling, juvenile justice and the death penalty.
The ACLU advertising campaign will be featured on the organization's
website, http://www.aclu.org, with links to relevant documents and news
about each issue. The next advertisement, on the subject of asset
forfeiture -- police seizure of innocent people's private property -- is
scheduled to run in the April 29 issue of The New York Times Magazine and
in the May 7 issue of The New Yorker.
The ACLU is a nationwide, non-partisan organization dedicated to defending
and preserving the Bill of Rights for all individuals through litigation,
legislation and public education.
Headquartered in New York City, the ACLU has 53 staffed affiliates that
cover every state, more than 300 chapters nationwide, and a legislative
office in Washington, DC. The bulk of the annual $40 million budget is
raised by contributions from members -- 275,000 strong -- and gifts and
grants from other individuals and foundations.
