Change ™ we can believe in? Obama Wants 9th Circuit Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned

Related: 9th Circuit's Baseball Ruling Pumps Up Computer Privacy

Obama Wants Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned

By David Kravets November 25, 2009 | 10:27 am |

The Obama administration is seeking to reverse a federal appeals court decision that dramatically narrows the government’s search-and-seizure powers in the digital age.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Justice Department officials are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its August ruling that federal prosecutors went too far when seizing 104 professional baseball players’ drug results when they had a warrant for just 10.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-2 decision offered Miranda-style guidelines to prosecutors and judges on how to protect Fourth Amendment privacy rights while conducting computer searches.

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The government is asking the court to review the case with all of its 27 judges, which it has never done. If the court agrees to a rehearing, a new decision is not expected for years, and the August decision would be set aside pending a new ruling. Either way, the U.S. Supreme Court has the final say.

The controversial decision, which the government said was contrary to Supreme Court precedent, outlined new rules on how the government may search computers. (pdf)

Ideally, when searching a computer’s hard drive, the government should cull the specific data described in the search warrant, rather than copy the entire drive, the court said. When that is not possible, the authorities must use an independent third party under the court’s supervision, whose job it would be to comb through the files for the specific information, and provide it, and nothing else, to the government, according to the ruling.

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http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/obama-wants-computer-privacy-ru...