The Patriot Act and IP Addresses: Is it the same as checking out a book?

We all know now that our library checkouts, and bookstore purchases, can be requested without our knowing about the investigation. Is it the same with IP Adressess?

Can the USAG request a person's IP Addy (And with it Identity and real address) as part of the Patriot Act and force the owners of the site to keep silent?

Just a little late night paranoia:-)

Actually I doubt it but I haven't heard much about this lately.

they can request data from ANY private company INCLUDING your surfing habits.

they must love the idea of blogs and forums... not to mention google

but most americans haven't even noticed a thing

peace

...give them a name and address?
That would suck. That would REALLY suck.

They did it to Verizon to find that music fileserver guy.

Your TAI Lifelog has everything think you post, every link you go to, every email you send.

DU probably has a TIA agent "assigned" to them to coordinate. No one in DU would be allowed to say anything, on pain of jail.

Hello, snoops!

Libraries can dump-the-data for the books that get checked out and then get returned in an honest fashion by the 90%-whatever of library patrons who are honest and return books on time.

There is no law saying that a library or an ISP has to keep their user records beyond the terms of the client's obligations, whether the obligation be to return the book or pay the monthly ISP bill! As long as the obligation is cancelled, the record should and can be deleted.

I mean, if someone checks out a book and then doesn't return it, then they're "asking" to have their records kept. If the person returns the book on time, why should the record be kept????!

information from the service provider who issues your internet access. They don't normally pay much attention to where folks go on the net, but its not impossible for them to track and log it.

There was not necessarily a requirement that you be notified. Warrants needed to be produced to your ISP, however, and IP Addresses that were regular haunts would likely want a warrant before providing the Feds with any of your information.

Since the implementation of the Patriot Act, it's dubious that any warrants would be asked for at all, much less issued. It wouldn't matter whether they informed you at all, since if they were the least suspiscious, they could incarcerate you forthwith. Legal representation and charges would not be required. They could seize your PC, your documents, your credit cards, etc. Cracking a persons passwords and finding the electronic footprints of their online transactions is no difficult matter even for a teenaged geek.

If the Feds want information on your habits, they've no reason to restrain themselves. They can be as ham-handed and intrusive as they care to be.

Don't worry, dude. If you disappear, - we'll all raise a stink. ;-)

I hate liberals and, um, all like that. I'd never come here ever because these are all unpatriotic peoples who don't support Bush like me and Bob Boudelang, a great patriot and he's not drunk so stop saying that.

Sweet.

I'm not worried about them coming after me though. I a LIEberal, commie, hating Dem bashing redneck.

It would be interesting to know if DU has ever been asked for information about a poster from any law enforcement or governmental agency?

How about it DU; have any such requests been made (yet)?

But I can promise you this:

NOBODY has EVER asked us for information about any of the visitors to our website.

If the government were to do this, we would immediately contact our lawyer and do everything in our power to stop it.

We don't take any chances. We have a good lawyer, and we do everything we can to keep ourselves out of trouble. I have no reason to believe that DU or our members would ever run into any problems with the law.

Skinner
DU Admin

I figured as much but while dozing off last night I did realize that it was entirely possible and we ought to be aware.

Thanks again:-)

It was certainly the answer I had hoped for, but I thought it was worth asking anyway. Thanks for the reply.