In blatant violation of the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure, the Department of Justice has apparently declared that they do not require warrants for grabbing Americans’ emails and Facebook chats. The ACLU has gotten hold of the documents from the FBI and DOJ that show that a subpoena, which comes from a prosecutor, is all that is necessary to seize emails and chats. The FBI released a statement on the matter:
In all investigations, the FBI obtains evidence in accordance with the laws and Constitution of the United States, and consistent with Attorney General guidelines. Our field offices work closely with US Attorney’s Office to adhere to the legal requirements of their particular districts as set forth in case law or court decisions/precedent.
The IRS previously backed away from a similar policy. On Tuesday, the Obama administration said they may support an FBI proposal for a law forcing tech companies to create surveillance capacities.
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