Rights groups want Carnivore muzzled

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center on Friday called for the Clinton administration to suspend the FBI's use of the Carnivore Internet surveillance system until it can be further reviewed. "Despite FBI claims that the review has vindicated Carnivore, it has actually validated many of the privacy concerns that have been voiced by the public and members of Congress. Internet users won't find much comfort in the review team's report," said David Sobel, General Counsel of EPIC. "Private communications are very much at risk." EPIC and the ACLU have been reviewing internal FBI documents that have been released over the past three months and have attacked the FBI for its secrecy in the tool's development. -- Robert Lemos, ZDNet News