Warrantless Searches of Computers
We in the US have been living with the internal contradictions of warrantless wiretapping since the first term of the Bush administration. Curtailing freedoms to protect freedoms sounds Orwellian but there is some validity to the arguments. This is one area where a simplistic black and white view of good versus evil is so insufficient it is almost laughable. A better starting point is the ancient Greek conception of sophrosyne, or moral balance guided by self-knowledge. That balance seems to be thrown off in Europe as well as in the US.
The Times of London reports police in the UK may be making use of a warrantless search, known as "remote searching" (search in the police sense, not as in Google). The police can monitor Internet and other computing activities without judicial review:
Police might also send an e-mail to a suspect's computer. The message would include an attachment that contained a virus or "malware". If the attachment was opened, the remote search facility would be covertly activated. Alternatively, police could park outside a suspect's home and hack into his or her hard drive using the wireless network.
The purpose of having a judicial review is to mitigate the risks of concentrating too much power and authority in one group, such as the police. It acknowledges that complex human situations are multi-faceted and no one person is sure to see all relevant aspects. We loose sight of these principles when we are too fearful. The world is full of risks but we need to keep a balanced perspective on those risks. Sophrosyne is once again the first principle from which we should reason about these questions.
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