Snooping in the Dark
January 09, 2004
Last month, President Bush signed off on a piece of legislation that gives the FBI unprecedented powers to obtain personal information from a financial institution. It also broadens the definition of financial institution, meaning that the Feds can now obtain your credit card records without a court order. Why haven't we heard more about this? It might be because Bush signed the law on the same day that Saddam was unearthed. Or it may just be that the media alarm is seldom triggered by such gradual expansions of the government's snooping powers. Bob talks to James Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
