>From Edupage 28 Jul: WARRANTS FOR ONLINE DATA SOAR The federal government has rapidly escalated its seizure of U.S. citizens' online data in recent years, according to a new study conducted by USA Today. The results of the study, which show that the number of search warrants issued for online data is up 800 percent over the past few years, caught Capitol Hill lawmakers and civil libertarians off guard. The sought-after data includes cases regarding child pornography, fraud, violent crime, and harassment. USA Today confined its study to warrants served on America Online's networks, but Andrew Grosso, a lawyer specializing in computer law, says there has been an across-the-board increase in the number of warrants and subpoenas issued to all ISPs and e-mail providers. The study's findings were jarring to some federal lawmakers. House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) is calling for law enforcement agents to explain why they are issuing such a high number of search warrants to service providers. (USA Today, 28 July 2000)
