But he's spoken out more against the Internet privacy invasion, a lot more...
"The protections of the Fourth Amendment are clear. The right to protection from unlawful searches is an indivisible American value. Two hundred years of court decisions have stood in defense of this fundamental right. The state's interest in effective crime-fighting should never vitiate the citizens' Bill of Rights." -John Ashcroft
"I believe that moving forward with the president's policy... would be an act of folly, creating a cadre of government "peeping toms"..." -John Ashcroft
"The administration's interest in all e-mail is a wholly unhealthy precedent, especially given this administration's track record on FBI files and IRS snooping. Every medium by which people communicate can be subject to exploitation by those with illegal intentions. Nevertheless, this is no reason to hand Big Brother the keys to unlock our e-mail diaries, open our ATM records, read our medical records, or translate our international communications." -John Ashcroft
Okay, here's the punchline, he also said this:
"The Clinton administration would like the Federal government to have the capability to read any international or domestic computer communications."
Yes, that's correct, Ashcroft said all of this back when he was a Senator for Missouri, back in October of 1997. Four years before the Homeland department of extreme digital snooping was even considered by Republicans. Interesting, though, how things change. It seems like those in power want more power. Those not in power want to curtail the power of those in power.
Well, things are different now. Ashcroft might argue. Are they? Isn't America still America? in 1997 America was just as much at risk as it was in 2001 or in 1993 when the World Trade Center was attacked the first time. Intelligence circles were fully aware that America could be a target for terrorism and had been. Yet, Ashcroft in 1997 did not believe these extreme measures were a good idea.
Check it out, in October 2001, four years to the month from his comments against such behavior, Ashcroft said this:
"Law enforcement will begin immediately to seek search warrants to obtain unopened voice mail stored on a computer, just as they traditionally have used search warrants to obtain unopened e-mail. They will also begin to use new subpoena power to obtain payment information such as credit card or bank account numbers of suspected terrorists on the Internet."
In April of 2002, Privacy International awarded John Ashcroft it's Big Brother award for "Worst Public Official for attacking privacy and freedom of information".
This is a far cry from the John Ashcroft who was just a mere senator, back in 1997. Now, he's America's top cop and he's in charge. I guess Ashcroft discovered the same thing his boss did when his boss said "If this were a dictatorship it would be a heck of a lot easier � just so long as I was the dictator."
When you're the top cop and can get laws changed in your favor, that's exactly what you are...
To read Senator John Ashcroft's statements regarding Internet privacy from 1997, go here.
To read Attorney General John Ashcroft's more recent comments about Internet privacy, click here.
To check out Privacy International's web site or to find out who else got Big Brother awards in 2002, check out this link.