"The Carnivore system has disturbed many in the Internet industry," states an article in the July 11 Wall Street Journal, "because when deployed, it must be hooked directly into Internet service providers' computer networks. That would give the government, at least theoretically, the ability to eavesdrop on all customers' digital communications, from e-mail to on-line banking and Web surfing."

With such Internet wiretaps, which are supposedly conducted under state or federal judicial orders, the FBI places its secret Carnivore computer system in a locked cage on the Internet provider's premises, with agents making daily visits to retrieve the data obtained from the provider's network.

"Legal challenges to the use of Carnivore are few," comments the Wall Street Journal article, "and judges' rulings remain sealed because of the secretive nature of the investigations."

"Nobody can dispute the fact that this is not legal...within the context of any current wiretap law," stated House majority leader Richard Armey.

The Republican congressman from Texas added that the most troubling problem he sees with Carnivore is "an erosion of trust in the government" by U.S. citizens.

The FBI's website touts Carnivore as a "diagnostic tool" that represents "one of the most important capabilities for acquiring evidence." The agency claims that "there is no substitute for electronic surveillance" while hypocritically claiming that it is "providing enhanced privacy protection."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democratic from Vermont, who the Washington Post described as "a staunch privacy advocate," backed the FBI's arguments on the need for such electronic surveillance. "Carnivore is like a car," Leahy stated, "It can be useful or it can be abused. what counts are the rules of the road and the license we give the driver."

One of the nation's largest Internet service providers, Earthlink Inc., refused to install the FBI's new surveillance device on its network. They countered a federal marshal's order with a promise that they would provide the government with the requested information about specific e-mail senders and recipients.

Earthlink, which has 3.5 million subscribers, fought the FBI's demand in court, but lost the case when a federal magistrate earlier this year ordered the company to give the FBI direct access to its system. Carnivore, however, wasn't compatible with the operating system software on the remote access servers. So Earthlink was forced to install an older version of the system software that would work with Carnivore. This older version caused its remote access servers to crash, which in turn knocked out access for a number of its customers.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking information under the Freedom of Information Act that would force the FBI to disclose technical details about how its surveillance system works. It filed a request July 14 specifically asking for the release of the system's "source code" as well as "letters, correspondence, tape recordings, notes, data, memoranda, e-mail" and other information connected with Carnivore.

The ACLU has also asked for similar information on two earlier FBI electronic spying systems, known as "Omnivore" and "EtherPeek."

The White House, hoping to codify into law the "right" of police agencies to monitor communications on the Internet, announced July 17 that it would be proposing legislation within the next 10 days that sets legal requirements for surveillance in cyberspace by federal authorities. White House chief of staff John Podesta, who made the announcement, called for "har-moniz[ing] the legal standards that apply to law enforcement's access to e-mail, telephone calls, and cable services."

Barry Steinhardt, an associate director of the American Civil Liberties Union, condemned the administration's stance. "Rather than glossing over Carnivore, Podesta should have announced that the administration was suspending its use," he stated.