Carnivore: The Power of FBI Surveillance Abstract: This article provides an analysis of the privacy issues associated with government surveillance of the Internet, with a focus on recently disclosed FBI tool known as carnivore. It is concluded that although a surveillance system is necessary, there must be more mechanisms to prevent the abuse of privacy. Communications surveillance has been a controversial issue in the United States since the 1920s, when the Supreme Court found unwarranted wiretaps legitimate in Olmstead v. United States. Because the telephone wires ran on public lands and Olmstead's property had not been physically trespassed, the wiretap was deemed legitimate. However, the Supreme Court overturned this ruling in 1967 in the landmark case Katz v. United States. Based on the Fourth Amendment, the Court ruled that individuals have the right to privacy of communications and that wiretaps are unconstitutional unless authorized by a search warrant. [Bowyer, 142-143] Since then, the right to privacy of communications has been accepted as an integral aspect of the American code of ethics. The FBI has made an effort, at least superficial, to respect the public's demand for Internet privacy with its new Internet surveillance system, Carnivore. However, the current implementation of Carnivore needlessly jeopardizes the privacy of innocent individuals. There is considerable utilitarian value in extending privacy rights on the Internet. The fear of communication being monitored by third parties inevitably leads to inefficiency, because people feel the need to find loopholes in the surveillance. For example, if the public is not comfortable with communication... middle of paper... the best way to establish this balance of power is to require the FBI to have the ISPs themselves perform the searches. It works Quoted Kevin W. Bowyer. "Ethics and information technology". IEEE Press, New York. 2001. (142-143). Patrick Ross. News.com. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-2713029.html September 2000 Patrick Riley. Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/national/071100/carnivore.sml July 11, 2000 Donald M. Kerr. FBI. http://www.fbi.gov/pressrm/congress/congress00/kerr090600.htm September 6, 2000IITRI. http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/publications/carnivore_draft_1.pdf November 17, 2000. Thomas C. Greene. The Register http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/15591.html 19 December 2000 Chris Oakes. Wired News. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37470,00.html July 12, 2000