Tim writes in to let us know of a proposal in the state legislature in Utah (known for passing some bizarre internet related legislation in the past) that would grant prosecutors stunning freedom to spy on internet users without much oversight. Specifically, the bill would let prosecutors in the Attorney General’s office demand names, addresses, phone numbers, and bank information from mobile phone operators and ISPs — without a judge reviewing the request. Last year, apparently, the legislature passed a similar law that was just limited to sex-related crimes — and prosecutors are now requesting info under that law approximately once per day, which seems like a pretty high number. The new law was originally intended to cover all crimes, but was limited to felonies as well as cyberstalking and cyberharassment claims (which, again, seem broad). It seems quite likely that such a law would be greatly abused.
Of course, the politicians supporting this claim that it’s necessary to keep people safe:
“If we charge our law-enforcement folks with trying to protect us and trying to catch these people,” [sponsor of the bill, Rep. Brad] Daw said, “we need to always be trying to review the capabilities these criminals have and the tools technology gives to them and make sure we have adequate tools in place.”
Except that makes no sense. Prosecutors could get a judge to grant a subpoena already. Why do they need to do this with no judicial review? This isn’t about protecting people and catching criminals. You already had a process to do that. It’s just that it had oversight. So what’s the excuse for taking away the oversight?
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
