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The White House is planning to ease FBI access to your Internet records
Just four words – "electronic communication transactional records" – will allow the FBI access to online info without a judge's approval. Info that includes addresses to which an Internet user sends e-mail; the times and dates e-mail was sent and received; and possibly a user's browser history. Lawyers assure us it doesn't include the "content" of e-mail or other Internet communication.
The Washington Post last week reported that the Obama administration wants to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation. The e-mails can be issued by an FBI field office on its own authority and require the recipient to provide the requested information and keep the request secret.