Federal law enforcement authorities may soon expand the use of a controversial FBI monitoring system to capture e-mail and other text messages sent through wireless telephone carriers, as well as messages from their Internet service providers, according to a telecommunications industry group.
The FBI has been using the system, called Carnivore, for two years, subject to court authorization, to tap into Internet communications, identify e-mail writers online or record the contents of messages. It does so by capturing "packets" of information containing those details.
Civil liberties advocates and some lawmakers have expressed concerns because the system could scan private communication about legal activities of others besides those under investigation. The Justice Department is reviewing the system's impact on privacy.
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