“Constitutional protections of the press are getting in the way
of cyber-crime prosecutions and may have to be reconsidered, a
White House committee chaired by US Attorney General Janet Reno
believes.”
” ‘With the advent of the Internet and widespread computer
use, almost any computer can be used to ‘publish’ material. As a
result, the [Privacy Protection Act of 1980 (PPA)] may now apply to
almost any search of any computer,’ the committee’s report
laments.”
“The Reno Department of Justice (DoJ) apparently finds this an
intolerable burden… ‘Because computers now commonly contain
enormous data storage devices, wrongdoers can use them to store
material for publication that the PPA protects while simultaneously
storing child pornography, stolen classified documents, or other
contraband or evidence of crime,’ the report warns.”