Accessing your internet browsing history is now the FBI's top legislative priority - CNET

Tech firms and privacy groups are fighting back against an amendment proposed by the Obama administration that would give the FBI a top-level view of your "electronic communicational records" (ECTRs) without the need for a warrant.

ECTRs include everything from the web sites you've visited to the duration of your browsing on a particular page. It's all up for grabs as part of a proposal being considered this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and legislation is already moving forward to allow national security agents to apply for an administrative subpoena called a "national security letter," or NSL, that would let agents bypass a judge's approval to view such information in terrorism and spy cases.

According to FBI Director James Comey, the amendment is a correction to a typo in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act that has hindered the bureau's ability to work in "a very, very big and practical way." As such, amending the existing surveillance laws has become the FBI's "top priority" in 2016.

An agent backed by an NSL could potentially "paint an incredibly intimate picture" of a person's life on the inteet, according to a letter signed by privacy advocates, the American Civil Liberties Union, Google, Facebook, and others.

A dossier may include an individual's unique inteet protocol (IP) address, web sites he or she has visited, and how much time was spent there, but they don't include specific information like written text or Google search queries.

Still, it's possible that future NSLs could even be served with a gag order that would prevent companies from telling users about govement requests for their personal information.