FBI Agents Now Allowed to Investigate Anyone Without Evidence of a Crime

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Jun 13, 2011

New Policies Allow FBI Agents to Snoop on Anyone Without Evidence of a Crime

The FBI has now given agents the authority to snoop on anyone, for any reason, even without evidence of criminal activity. Catherine Herridge explains the policy changes, which an FBI spokesman has characterized as "tweaks," saying that they'd give FBI agents more leeway to look into organizations or individual suspects without strong evidence of criminal behavior. Agents would be able to search databases without opening a record of their decision. They were previously required to open a file to show with their initial searches found.

These changes are drawing criticism from civil liberties groups, with the ACLU saying the new policies present new questions about whether agents are crossing the line and abusing their powers.

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