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New FBI powers echoed in Spielberg film Sat Jun 01 2002 11:54:46 ET Deutsche Presse-Agentur For critics of the new rules governing FBI terrorism investigations, the upcoming film "The Minority Report" will look terrifyingly familiar. It is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise, both men noted for their box office prowess rather than their political activism. Based on a novel by sci-fi writer Phillip K. Dick, it tells the story of a society in the future where you can be arrested for future crimes you haven't yet committed. Access to a predictive system that they believe can faultlessly tell when people will commit crimes makes this possible. Cruise, the unit's chief investigator, learns of the systems imperfections the hard way when it mistakenly decides to come after him. "We arrest individuals that have broken no law," says a low voice in the film's trailer. "But they will." The movie may have been conceived as a piece of science fiction fantasy, but it became alarmingly close to reality Thursday, according to critics of the new rules governing FBI investigators. From all sides of the political spectrum, criticism poured in Thursday on the measures which were seen as taking the FBI back to the notorious days of J. Edgar Hoover, who routinely tracked domestic U.S. political movements and seemingly cared little for the civil rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. His use of a system, called Cointelpro, to spy on civil rights activists including Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers, opponents of the Vietnam War and others led to the restrictions that were relaxed by Attorney General John Ashcroft. The new regulations give the FBI greater domestic spying powers - allowing it to trawl for information even where there is no evidence of criminal activity. FBI agents will for the first time be able to enter public places and forums, such as Internet chatrooms or mosques, to observe, develop leads and investigate in proactive attempts to prevent crimes and terrorism, media reports said. The FBI is also likely to rely heavily on data mining services that crunch through vast amounts of information in an attempt to identify suspicious behaviour and individuals. Rightwing Internet journalist Matt Drudge said the new regulations had created a "Department of Precime" while the American Civil Liberties Union said it brought Big Brother totalitarianism a step closer. "The FBI is now telling the American people, 'You no longer have to do anything unlawful in order to get that knock on the door,' " said head Laura Murphy, the head of the American Civil Liberties Union. "You can be doing a perfectly legal activity like worshipping or talking in a chat room, they can spy on you anyway." Government officials defend the moves as necessary for combating terror and pledge that the FBI will use its new powers only in ways sanctioned by the constitution. Saying the regulations removed a "competitive advantage for terrorists", Attorney General John Ashcroft said "the guidelines emphasize that the FBI must not be deprived of using all lawful authorized methods in investigations, consistent with the Constitution ... to pursue and prevent terrorist actions." Critics said however the new regulations would do nothing to fix the FBI failures, which were responsible for the agency allowing the September 11 terrorists to slip through their grasp prior to the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. "The government is rewarding failure," said the ACLU's Murphy. "It seems when the FBI fails, the response by the Bush administration is to give the bureau new powers, as opposed to seriously look at why the intelligence and law enforcement failures occurred." END |
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