Of Trash and Databases: Don't Be Too Upset About Expanded FBI Snooping -- Yet
The announcement that the FBI is prepared to expand the envelope for preliminary investigations into activities with possible criminal or terrorist overtones is rich with irony. The most obvious point is that the changes in the FBI manuals that allow FBI agents to scour data bases and examine trash seems to be yet another instance where the Obama Administration is taking a leaf out of the Bush II playbook. The point is significant because it shows that people in power, whether for good reason or bad, tend to aggrandize power for themselves. Arguments from public necessity always seem more attractive to those in power than to those who are not in power.
The overriding question, of course, is not whether this latest announcement is an Obama or a Bush initiative. The question is whether it is a correct one. And on that point the answer is far from clear. The announcement contains no built-in absurdities, as would be the case if greater internal protection were afforded to witnesses or bystanders than to potential suspects. But, by the same token, internal consistency is not in and of itself a guarantee that the whole program makes sense. For that, one has to perform, without any real information, a risk benefit assessment that takes into account the prospect of abuse.
Valerie E. Caproni, the FBI General Counsel, said that this was done, so at least for the moment we have to assume that this is the case, which adds another weak plus to the government account. The stronger case for the government lies, however, in the way in which these preliminary investigations tie in with the overall system of FBI investigation. The good news about this system is that most of these leads, as is typically the case with investigative work, turn out to be dead ends. That means that no records of any sort are kept of the events, which disappear into the mists of history. In the few cases in which something turns up, a higher level of review and scrutiny is applied before matters go forward—another good sign. But if the system were otherwise, and formal approval were needed to launch a search of record, then ironically people might remain in the FBI files long after the FBI found nothing of interest to them. Ironically, therefore, the system provides some measure of protection for innocent subjects.
On balance, therefore, it looks as though this program should be given a chance. As is usually the case with law enforcement techniques, the better approach is to wait for some real sign of abuse before insisting on internal changes. The only exception to that is where the objection to the program, as with the objection to FISA, is that they do not fall within the powers legally delegated to members of the executive branch. That is surely not the case here, so the wise thing to do for the moment is for civil libertarians to key a watchful eye and raise any particular concerns with the FBI.
National security issues always require a balancing act of public interests in information, and safety against individual interests in privacy. We have to learn to live with it.
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Comments :
May '11
Re: Of Trash and Databases: Don't Be Too Upset About Expanded FBI Snooping -- Yet
In my job, I do (much less fancy) non-government investigations. Friends and coworkers often whisper requests for me to "look something up" for them in databases that are supposed to be accessed for specific legal purposes only.
In the FBI, I can't help but assume that many agents encounter similar situations... If the people asking them to "look something up" are fellow federal employees or even political figures, and these quick searches aren't being monitored, seems like it would be simple to perform and justify all kinds of invasive and baseless searches.
Re: Of Trash and Databases: Don't Be Too Upset About Expanded FBI Snooping -- Yet
Julian Sanchez over at CATO analyzed the changes, writing:
Jun '10
Re: Of Trash and Databases: Don't Be Too Upset About Expanded FBI Snooping -- Yet
There are no innocent "subjects" in America, merely unindited co-conspirators. As to whether we should wait and see...it's more like waiting until SWAT kicks in your door early some morning. If they don't kill you outright, you'll be arrested for violating some secret law you can't even know about. You'll be given a choice of pleading guilty to some charge or being tried for hundreds of individual counts of merely existing.
How many times has the FBI already admitted to grossly overstepping the bounds of their mandate already?
Yes, I'm a pessimist. I'm a historian, it comes with the territory.
Remember your rights, anything you say will be taken out of context and used against you.