Big Brother May Be Watching You, But He May Have The Wrong Number.
MSNBC is reporting that when the FBI is listening in on phone conversations of suspected terrorists, sometimes they listen in on the wrong number. The FBI made the admission Friday, when using the “roving wiretaps” provisions of the USA Patriot Act.
The FBI could not say how often it mistakenly listens in on the wrong number, and since any evidence mistakenly collected is not legally admissible in court, it is impossible to know if mistakenly collected evidence is used to begin an investigation.
The FBI admission came from a Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s backlog of intercepted, but unreviewed and untranslated collection of 38,514 hours of conversations.
The wiretap provisions of the Patriot Act is expected to expire in December, but legislation in the House of Representatives have the provisions to be renewed for the next 10 years. Congress is expected to act on the legislation later on this month.
The FBI could not say how often it mistakenly listens in on the wrong number, and since any evidence mistakenly collected is not legally admissible in court, it is impossible to know if mistakenly collected evidence is used to begin an investigation.
The FBI admission came from a Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s backlog of intercepted, but unreviewed and untranslated collection of 38,514 hours of conversations.
The wiretap provisions of the Patriot Act is expected to expire in December, but legislation in the House of Representatives have the provisions to be renewed for the next 10 years. Congress is expected to act on the legislation later on this month.
posted by Alva Goldbook at 1:57 AM
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