“Simply, it will allow an FBI agent sitting in Virginia to hack into a computer or network in Nevada — or anywhere in the world.”
“Simply, it will allow an FBI agent sitting in Virginia to hack into a computer or network in Nevada — or anywhere in the world.”
To be fair, the FBI would still need to obtain a warrant before taking any action, and as many online criminal activities happen across state lines, it is possible for someone to commite a crime in one state from their home in another state. The FBI deals with domestic crime only while the CIA deals internationally. I feel conflicted to be honest. On one hand, the FBI cannot reasonably expect to do their jobs if they can’t investigate online criminals across state lines, on the other I think actually obtaining a warrant for such information should have strict requirements and oversight.
It is unclear to me whether the proposed rule change affects the FBI’s authority to use hacking to carry out its warrants. From the article, the only thing that’s clear is that it expands the geographic scope of them.
I do feel that existing oversight of law-enforcement investigatory practices is woefully inadequate, and it would be nice if fixing that were on the table. Politically, I’d have wished that that could have been tied to the legislative part of this rule change. Of course, from the court’s perspective that’s an unrelated issue.