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EPIC campaign against $500M wiretap funding
``` This is an important campaign because it unites a broad range of interests behind a civil-liberties agenda and against corporate welfare. One way to participate would be to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Letters to the editor are a very efficient way of getting the word out to people who are not on the net, and this is an issue that is relatively easy to explain in the space of a letter.
Phil Agre (speaking only for myself)
Date: 5 Apr 1995 17:33:19 -0400
From: "Marc Rotenberg"
[...]
[PRESS RELEASE]
Contact - Marc Rotenberg 202/544-9240 (Washington) Wiretap information - wiretap@epic.org General information - info@epic.org Privacy Hotline - 800/651-1489 ($10 charge)
EPIC OPPOSES NATIONAL WIRETAP PLAN
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Electronic Privacy Information Center announced today that it would launch a national campaign to oppose funding for a wiretap plan adopted by Congress last year. The Washington-based public interest organization said that the government has failed to justify the $500,000,000 price tag.
The wiretap plan, also known as the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994, will require telephone firms to make it easy to wiretap the nation's communication system. The proposal faced strong opposition from industry and civil liberties organizations last year. But the bill went forward after the government offered to pay companies $500,000,000 to make the proposed changes.
FBI Director Lou Freeh argued that the legislation was necessary to preserve crime-fighting abilities of law enforcement. But critics charge that the plan will be costly, unwieldy, and leave the nation's telephone system more vulnerable to criminal misuse.
Last year EPIC brought suit against the FBI to obtain records relating to the program. "This whole effort has taken place behind a shroud of secrecy. The information that has been disclosed indicates that this plan is deeply flawed" said Marc Rotenberg, director of EPIC. "Not a dollar should be spent on this program.
The wiretap plan has also been linked to the controversial Clipper Chip proposal, announced by the National Security Agency in 1993. Clipper also faced strong opposition from industry and civil liberties groups. The White House reportedly backed off Clipper after a petition signed by 47,000 Internet users was delivered to the President last year.
EPIC announced that it will provide an Internet address -- wiretap@epic.org -- to anyone on the Internet who need information about the campaign. "We want net users to express their concerns to Congress. And we expect that Congress will take a very careful look at this program before spending $500,000,000," said Mr. Rotenberg.
EPIC has also established a "Privacy Hotline" through Western Union. The 800 number service will allow callers to send Western Union Mailgrams(r) to members of Congress expressing opposition to the wiretap plan. The cost for callers to send the letters is $10. Callers will be billed either to a home telephone number or to a credit card.
EPIC announced the campaign at the fifth annual Computers, Freedom & Privacy conference held this week in San Francisco. The conference brings together policy makers, business leaders, civil liberties advocates, and on-line users to explore rights and responsibilities in the information age.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO
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[Letter to the San Jose Mercury News]
Letters to the Editor San Jose Mercury News San Jose, CA
Regarding the report on EPIC's campaign to squelch funding for the FBI wiretap plan, ("Wiretap Spending Cut Sought," April 1995) there are several points to clarify.
First, we do not object to court authorized wiretaps. We oppose the effort to require that such wiretaps be made easy. There is nothing in the Constitution or the original federal wiretap law that created such an obligation. The reason is obvious. The Fourth Amendment is intended to protect the public from abuse by government, not to coerce the public to make the work of the government easy.
Second, we do not accept the FBI's contention that digital technologies have frustrated law enforcement investigations. Wiretapping in the United States is at an all-time high. Law enforcement also routinely searches through telephone records in electronic form, a process made far easier as a result of the growth of digital networks. Cellular phones are easily overheard, and remote monitoring technologies are vastly improved.
It's therefore no surprise that in a series of documents obtained by EPIC under the Freedom of Information Act, FBI field offices repeatedly responded "no problems encountered" when queried about the impact of new technologies by FBI Headquarters.
Third, the wiretap bill is cut of the same cloth as the Clipper proposal. Both proposals were developed by the same federal agencies with the same goal. Both seek the Holy Grail of absolute surveillance, an aim the US government has never previously pursued. Clipper was bad. This will be worse.
Fourth, it is almost inconceivable that in this era of dramatic budget cuts and down-sizing of federal services, the Congress should appropriate such a staggering sum of money to fund an untested, widely criticized, inherently flawed proposal for surveillance of the nation's communications infrastructure. One does not have to be a strong believer in privacy or civil liberties to see the folly behind this plan.
Merc readers interested in learning more about the wiretap bill should send email to wiretap@epic.org.
Marc Rotenberg, director Electronic Privacy Information Center rotenberg@epic.org 202 544 9240
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[Sample letter to Congress]
Dear Congressman
I am writing to you to oppose funding for the Telephone Carrier Compliance program -- the wiretap plan -- contained in the budget for the Department of Justice.
I believe that it is a mistake for the government to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to wiretap the information highway.
I am also concerned that this program will make the telephone system more vulnerable to misuse. We need good technology for privacy and security, not wiretapping and surveillance.
The experience with the Clipper chip already proved that government proposals for electronic surveillance will be very unpopular with American business and the American public.
I understand that the Department of Justice is trying to hide the cost for this program by spending civil fines received by the government. I think this is wrong. Funds collected by the government are taxpayer dollars. Congress should decide how that money should be spent.
Funding should be available for appropriate law enforcement activities, but the wiretap program is too expensive and just a bad idea. Also, with many government programs being cut back, it is a bad time to launch a new program that is so controversial.
Privacy is an important American value. A vote to reduce government surveillance is a vote to support basic American freedoms.
Thank you for considering my views. Please let me know how you plan to vote on the funding for the wiretap program.
Sincerely yours,
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Marc Rotenberg (Rotenberg@epic.org) * 202-544-9240 (tel) Electronic Privacy Information Center * 202-547-5482 (fax) 666 Pennsylvania Ave, SE, Suite 301 * ftp/gopher/wais cpsr.org Washington, DC 20003 * HTTP://epic.digicash.com/epic ```
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