-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ======================================= NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037 World Wide Web: http://www.LP.org ======================================= For release: March 30, 2000 ======================================= For additional information: George Getz, Press Secretary Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================= Let's pull the plug on the SEC's automated Web snooping scheme WASHINGTON, DC -- A plan by the Securities and Exchange Commission to scan the Internet for "suspicious" words and phrases -- and maintain a secret database of the results -- is an electronic "stop-and-frisk" that will treat innocent Americans like financial felons, the Libertarian Party warned today. "Under this plan, anything you say electronically can and will be used against you in a government database," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national director. "The SEC says it has 'zero tolerance' for financial fraud, but this proposal proves that the commission has zero tolerance for privacy, Constitutional protections, and the concept of being innocent until proven guilty." This week, the SEC admitted that it was in the process of creating a multi-million-dollar surveillance system that will automatically scan websites, Internet message boards, and online forums for language that could indicate financial or stock fraud. The SEC's automated web "crawler" would search for up to 40 words or phrases like "get rich quick" or "make money now," collect the e-mail addresses and names of people posting such messages, and then store that information in a database for possible investigation and civil action. Such a surveillance scheme is allowable, argued SEC assistant general counsel George C. Browne, because "the Constitution doesn't give people the right to use the Internet to commit fraud." But, countered Dasbach, "The Constitution doesn't give the federal government the right to scoop up information about individuals without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, and dump that information in a secret database without their knowledge or consent." Libertarians oppose the SEC scheme for several reasons, he said: * It secretly monitors the lawful actions of millions of innocent Americans in an effort to catch a few crooks. "A basic premise of American law is that you are innocent until proven guilty," said Dasbach. "Under this SEC plan, you could be monitored and investigated without any search warrant, suspicion of wrongdoing, or criminal charges. For example, if you mention on an Internet forum that you bought a government lottery ticket in an effort to 'get rich quick,' you could be tagged by the SEC as a potential swindler." * It may constitute an unconstitutional "search." "The law is murky on this topic, because the courts have not decided exactly what the Internet is, or what constitutes a digital search," admitted Dasbach. "Is it like a telephone, in which case the SEC would need a warrant to spy on you? Or is it like a discussion in a public square, in which case the SEC can eavesdrop at will? But given the government's long history of violating civil rights and privacy, Libertarians would argue that the Internet deserves the most robust Fourth Amendment protection possible -- and the SEC's plan deserves zero tolerance from the courts." * It may violate the federal government's own Privacy Act. "Under the Privacy Act, Americans have the legal right to correct false information about themselves in a government database," noted Dasbach. "But under this SEC plan, you won't be informed that information has been collected about you and put into the SEC's investigative database. You could be in their files as a potential financial felon -- and not even know it." For all these reasons, the SEC should scrap its automated snooping scheme, said Dasbach. "SEC bureaucrats should pull the plug on this automated webcrawler, and let it crawl off and die," he said. "Instead of spying on innocent Americans who want to get rich quick, this high-tech surveillance scheme should get canceled quick." -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBOOORINCSe1KnQG7RAQFlBgQAofoZ/+AupuqJT2GmyMxFEDBVKUT6kQh3 DMEheCS24scivYtkvpuF+Eph1epO6gzFnL1B6QpPEQQOO5nMNGjTuSRc1clD6Fzz lN4dZdsCysWtZ9uLM5MA6NL4TrrDZpuVg/mn2w34BigoYKplAcYVqBstzuS8G5w/ C3qXMxX3270= =WUGC -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100 voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037 fax: 202-333-0072 For subscription changes, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with just the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Or use the WWW form at: http://www.lp.org/lp-announce-form.html
