“”We are not asking for extraordinary powers,” FBI
Director Louis Freeh told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on
Technology, Terrorism and Government Information on March 28th.
Following this comforting statement and a ritual bowing to the
Constitution, Freeh proceeded to request widespread new powers to
conduct surveillance and impose new penalties in the name of
preventing cybercrime.”
“Louis Freeh wants to snuff out the encryption-using,
drug-dealing, system-hacking, copyright-infringing, child
pornographers who he apparently sees as making up 97 percent of net
users. And in the post-Cold War fight for resources, he has been
extremely effective in gaining money and power for his agency to
hunt down the new enemies.”
“Since Freeh’s appointment in 1993, the FBI’s budget has more
than doubled while most other agencies have seen substantial
declines. He has gained unprecedented powers to demand that
communications companies build wiretapping capability into their
networks, including the ability to use cell phones as tracking
devices. He’s won the power to conduct black-bag break-ins in the
name of national security and to implement “roving wiretaps.”
Freeh’s only notable loss has been on mandatory key escrow and the
Clipper Chip.”