[Lilux-info] "Computer Privacy in Distress"

"Computer Privacy in Distress" Wired News (01/17/07); Granick, Jennifer Recent court cases have brought the question of computer privacy into the spotlight, as it pertains to the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Recent cases have proposed that border agents can search PCs of individuals crossing the border, without reasonable suspicion or a warrant. Though "routine" searchers are allowed to take place without reasonable suspicion, no court has directly addressed the question of whether searching a PC at the border is a routine or non-routine search. Due to the amount of private information on PCs, the length of time searches take, and the probability of finding contraband, courts may rule that reasonable suspicion is needed for such searches. U.S. v. Zeigler, heard in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has stated that employees of private companies have no reasonable expectation of privacy, meaning no Fourth Amendment rights, concerning their workplace computers. Unless defense attorneys' requests for a rehearing are granted, the government could walk into an office without cause or a warrant and search the entire contents of the computer of any employee. The 9th Circuit is also trying to figure out a way to make sure authorities get the information they need without accessing or disturbing private, unrelated material that may be on the same disk drive. For example, in prosecuting United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, the government obtained warrants and seized databases containing drug test results for the 10 baseball players suspected of taking steroids, as well as the test results for hundreds of other athletes, and despite a lower court ruling that said the government must return the unrelated information, the 9th Circuit upheld a government appeal. This case shows that warrants must not only state what authorities can seize, but what they may not access on these seized machines. Courts, and possibly Congress, have a complicated road ahead in crafting a computer privacy compromise that is supported by both privacy advocates and investigating authorities. <http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,72510-0.html?tw=wn_index_18>