FBI director Robert Mueller has called national security letters, which do not require a judge's approval or signature, a "proven and useful investigative tool."
(Credit: Getty Images)
Google has undertaken what appears to be a legal first: an open court challenge by a major Internet company to a warrantless electronic data-gathering technique used by the FBI.
The company asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco last week to grant a "petition to set aside legal process" in response to a national security letter it received from the FBI.
National security letters allow FBI officials to send a secret request to Web and telecommunications companies requesting "name, address, length of service," and other information about users as long as it's relevant to a national security investigation. No court approval is required, and disclosing the existence of the FBI's request is not permitted.
Because of the secrecy requirements, documents in the San Francisco case are almost entirely under seal. Petitions "filed under Section 3511 of Title 18 to set aside legal process issued under Section 2709 of Title 18 must be filed under seal because Section 2709 prohibits disclosure of the legal process," Google attorney Kevan Fornasero wrote in the filing, according to Bloomberg, which was the first to report on the legal challenge.
Illston is the ... [Read more]
No comments:
Post a Comment