Supreme Court Allows FBI To Hack Any Computer Anywhere With A Warrant

Thanks to a Supreme Court decision on Thursday, law enforcement agencies including the FBI may end up with broad powers to hack any computer, regardless of its physical location—but the expansion of power hinges upon congressional approval, NEWSWEEK reports.

With a new rule change in the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedures, which covers search and seizure protocols, federal judges would be able to issue warrants to search computers located anywhere in the world. Before the Supreme Court’s alteration, federal magistrate judges were allowed only to issue warrants within their own jurisdictions. The Supreme Court submitted the changes to Congress as a part of the court’s annual review of the procedures, which were passed by Congress in 1938 for a more uniform way of dealing with criminal cases across the country.

The Department of Justice welcomed the changes. For a few years, the department pushed for reform on Rule 41, arguing it will help prosecute criminals who use Tor and other browsers which allows users to surf the internet in complete anonymity. Read more at NEWSWEEK.

{Matzav.com}