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[Links to the bill and who voted for it are in the article. --Declan]
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http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,52739,00.html
Act Would OK Snail Mail Searches
By Declan McCullagh
2:00 a.m. May 23, 2002 PDT
WASHINGTON -- Just a few years ago, the U.S. Postal Service got
savaged by privacy advocates after suggesting that private mailbox
services were somehow objectionable.
Since services like Mailboxes Etc. could encourage fraud, the post
office declared, businesses must limit anonymity by demanding photo ID
from all customers.
Three years later, the Postal Service's lobbyists are fighting for
Americans' privacy rights -- and opposing a bill in Congress that
would allow U.S. Customs agents to open any internationally-mailed
letter or parcel for almost any reason.
So far, the Postal Service has had little luck: On Wednesday, the U.S.
House of Representatives approved the new surveillance powers by a 327
to 101 vote. The bill, titled the Customs Border Security Act, says
that incoming or outgoing mail can be searched at the border "without
a search warrant."
[...]
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