Senators warn the IRS against warrantless spying on American's email, Facebook or Twitter messages.
A dozen U.S. senators warned the IRS today against warrantless snooping on taxpayers' confidential e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter messages.
In a stiffly worded letter (PDF) to the tax collection agency, they asked the "IRS to confirm that it will immediately establish a warrant requirement when it wants to obtain e-mail and other electronic personal correspondence" from American companies.
The letter also asked the IRS to "provide a timeline" for updating its internal procedures to guarantee that the contents of electronic files would be accessed only after agents follow the privacy-protective traditional procedure of obtaining a search warrant signed by a judge. Among the senators signing it: Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
It comes a day after the IRS's acting chief faced stiff questioning during a Senate hearing about the agency's controversial policies, and a week after internal documents surfaced -- first reported by CNET -- saying Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their confidential electronic communications.
During the Senate hearing, Steven Miller, the IRS' acting commissioner, said the agency would abandon its policy regarding warrantless e-mail access. But Miller said he did not know what the rules were for private communications exchanged through Facebook, Twitter, and similar services.
Today's letter said:
We remain troubled by press reports indicating that until today your agency claimed the authority to obtain citizens' private electronic communications, including e-mails, without a warrant. We believe these actions are a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. Accordingly, we urge the IRS to provide further details and a timetable for its plans to update policies to adhere to Americans' constitutional rights.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57580149-38/senators-to-irs-dont-snoop-on-taxpayers-private-messages/
IRS remains mum on taxpayers' e-mail privacy rights:
The Internal Revenue Service has declined to answer questions about whether it obtains a search warrant before perusing Americans' e-mail messages and other electronic correspondence.
CNET contacted the IRS last Wednesday morning to ask whether the agency's internal procedures require warrants signed by a judge. That was in response to newly disclosed internal IRS memos saying Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their e-mail, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and similar online communications.
Despite repeated queries, the IRS has not responded to last week's questions. Instead, an agency spokesman provided a statement saying:
Respecting taxpayer rights and taxpayer privacy are cornerstone principles for the IRS. Our job is to administer the nation's tax laws, and we do so in a way that follows the law and treats taxpayers with respect. Contrary to some suggestions, the IRS does not use emails to target taxpayers. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong.
That's not enough to satisfy the American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the internal IRS documents through the Freedom of Information Act.
"We have no idea why they haven't done more to clarify their position on this crucially important issue," Nathan Wessler, a staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project, said this afternoon. "It would be very simple for them to clarify."
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57579685-38/irs-remains-mum-on-taxpayers-e-mail-privacy-rights/