Even though President Barack Obama taught Constitutional law at the University of Chicago and argued strongly against Bush's overuse of executive authority, his administration continues to justify warrantless wiretapping.

The Justice Department has revealed a marked increase in the use of rather-sneaky “National Security Letters” (NSLs), which allow the FBI to acquire information on American citizens without a court order.

In 2008, the FBI made 24,744 NSL “requests” (related to 7,225 people) as compared to 16,804 requests (related to 4,327 people) in 2007. These numbers were revealed in a recent report to Congress, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

National security letters give the FBI the power to force private companies – like banks, telephone companies, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – to disclose their customers’ personal information without having to ask a judge for permission and show “just cause.”

In addition, private companies and their employees served with a NSL are prohibited (“gagged”) from telling anyone what’s going on – without breaking federal law.

The number of national security letters issued has grown dramatically since the PATRIOT ACT expanded the FBI's authority to issue them, of course.

Finally, there is evidence that the FBI is not using NSLs properly. Another report to Congress has indicated that a great deal of the information obtained by NSLs was useless in the long run.

Handshakes all around, ladies and gentlemen.


(H/T to The Electronic Privacy Information Center)


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