Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 15:11:11 -0500 (EST)
Message-Id: <199912032011.PAA23017@mattababy.mit.edu>
From: belmonte@mit.edu (Matthew Belmonte)
To: john_kerry@kerry.senate.gov
Subject: support on Congressional enquiry into ECHELON surveillance

As your constituent, I'm writing to ask for your support 
for a congressional inquiry into a threat to the privacy 
and civil liberties of all residents of the United States. 
I've read several credible reports that suggest that the 
global electronic communications surveillance system --  
frequently known by the code name ECHELON -- presents an 
extreme threat to my privacy and that of other people around 
the world.

Numerous reports, including some to the European Parliament, 
have detailed the existence of ECHELON, a 5-nation telecommunications 
surveillance system that is led by the US National Security 
Agency (NSA). According to these reports, ECHELON attempts to 
capture staggering volumes of satellite, microwave, cellular 
and fiber-optic traffic, including communications to and from 
North America. This vast quantity of voice and data communications 
are then processed through sophisticated filtering
technologies.

This massive surveillance system apparently operates without the 
oversight of either the Congress or the courts. Shockingly, the 
NSA has even refused to disclose to the Congress and the public 
the legal guidelines for the project. Without those legal guidelines, 
there is no way of knowing if the NSA is using ECHELON to spy on 
Americans in violation of federal law. I'm counting on you to ensure 
that ECHELON wiretapping does not circumvent any requirement in 
federal law that the government obtain a warrant from a court 
before it eavesdrops on a conversation to, from or within the United
States.