News: E-terrorism: Liberty vs. security
SAN FRANCISCO--Earlier this year, a few California scuba divers found out just how far the long arm of the law can reach since Sept. 11.

Federal agents concerned about scuba-related terrorist plans requested the entire database of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Unbeknownst to most of its members, the organization voluntarily handed over a list of more than 100,000 certified divers worldwide, explaining later that it wanted to avoid an FBI subpoena that would have required far more information to be disclosed.

Cindy Cohn, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a diver listed in the database, was livid after learning of the incident. Such concerns resonate with particular volume in this liberal city where the EFF is based, which has a long history of protesting government intrusion.

"You participated in creating an FBI file on me and all the rest of your customers, loyal Americans who have done nothing wrong and who now face the process of increased surveillance by virtue of the fact that we did business with you," Cohn wrote in a letter to the Southern California-based divers association.

Since Sept. 11, databases containing information on tens of thousands of ordinary people have found their way into the hands of federal investigators hungry for any scraps of data that might serve as leads in terrorism investigations. Grocery shopping lists, travel records and information from other, more public databases have all been caught in the government's antiterrorism net.

Since Sept. 11, databases containing information on tens of thousands of ordinary people have found their way into the hands of federal investigators hungry for any scraps of data that might serve as leads in terrorism investigations. Grocery shopping lists, travel records and information from other, more public databases have all been caught in the government's antiterrorism net.
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