FC: House votes 327-101 to permit warrantless searches of U.S. mail

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[Links to the bill and who voted for it are in the article. --Declan]

---

http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,52739,00.html

   Act Would OK Snail Mail Searches
   By Declan McCullagh 

   2:00 a.m. May 23, 2002 PDT
   WASHINGTON -- Just a few years ago, the U.S. Postal Service got
   savaged by privacy advocates after suggesting that private mailbox
   services were somehow objectionable.
   
   Since services like Mailboxes Etc. could encourage fraud, the post
   office declared, businesses must limit anonymity by demanding photo ID
   from all customers.

   Three years later, the Postal Service's lobbyists are fighting for
   Americans' privacy rights -- and opposing a bill in Congress that
   would allow U.S. Customs agents to open any internationally-mailed
   letter or parcel for almost any reason.
   
   So far, the Postal Service has had little luck: On Wednesday, the U.S.
   House of Representatives approved the new surveillance powers by a 327
   to 101 vote. The bill, titled the Customs Border Security Act, says
   that incoming or outgoing mail can be searched at the border "without
   a search warrant."

   [...]



-------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------