Cybersecurity

New Senate bill would block SCOTUS-approved rule change expanding DOJ's surveillance powers

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Rand Paul

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the bill’s sponsors. CJ Hanevy / Shutterstock.com

A small bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a proposed bill to curtail computer intrusions by the U.S. government.

Their Stop Mass Hacking Act, introduced Thursday by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), would reverse a change to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure which was requested by the U.S. Department of Justice and OK’d by the U.S. Supreme Court in a private vote in April.

Under the revisions, which are to take effect Dec. 1, a single warrant can authorize a broad array of searches, and the Justice Department can get permission to search computers in remote locations without knowing exactly where they are, according to Broadcasting & Cable and Reuters.

A news release provides more information about the bill.

See also:

ABAJournal.com: “Evidence FBI obtained via malware in child pornography possession case is tossed by court”

ABAJournal.com: “US uses hacker technique to catch child-porn offenders; was search warrant too extensive”

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