FBI Gmail spying will be at the forefront of the agency’s efforts, a report has claimed this week. FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann said for 2013, it should be a “top priority.”
The FBI wants to have more powers for spying on real-time communications, making it a “top priority” for this year, says a report.
The agency has had a difficult time monitoring Gmail, Google Voice, and cloud storage services due to provisions in the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which only allows the government to make ISPs and telecommunications firms install surveillance equipment within their own networks, reported Slate.com.
FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann said at an American Bar Association meeting last week that on Gmail and Google voice, “communications are being used for criminal conversations,” and therefore, should be monitored, the website said.
Elaborating further, Rob D’Ovidio, an associate professor of criminal justice at Drexel University, told CBS News that many criminals are “going dark” to evade law enforcement.
“We know that criminal organizations are using them,” D’Ovidio told the network. “Whether they’re street gangs, child pornographers, or terrorist members—they’re using simple video game embedded communication tools. So the FBI is just saying we need a level playing field.” He said they also include Gmail and similar services.
Currently, the FBI can use “Title III” under the “Wiretap Act” to request e-mail and chat companies to give them “technical assistance necessary to accomplish the interception.” But, according to Slate, the FBI believes the “technical assistance” powers aren’t good enough.
Earlier this month, Google issued a report that the FBI is heavily using National Security Letters, a type of surveillance that sources information on users.
“You’ll notice that we’re reporting numerical ranges rather than exact numbers. This is to address concerns raised by the FBI, Justice Department and other agencies that releasing exact numbers might reveal information about investigations. We plan to update these figures annually,” Richard Salgado, a Google legal director, wrote in a blog.
In the second half of 2012, Google said it got 8,438 National Security Letters.
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