Court limits in-car FBI spying
By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus, The Register

An appeals court this week put the brakes on an FBI surveillance technique that turns an automobile driver’s on-board vehicle navigation system into a covert eavesdropping device….

The feature, designed to listen-in on car thieves as they cruise around in a stolen auto, turns on a dashboard microphone and pipes conversations out over a cellphone connection — normally to the company’s response center, but in this case to an FBI listening post. …

Under federal law, the FBI can obtain court orders compelling telecommunications companies, ISPs, landlords and others to assist the Bureau in spying on customers. …

Despite the reversal, David Sobel, an attorney with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says the ruling is not a victory for privacy. “Although the bottom line is that the surveillance order was rejected, the real effect of it is that this kind of monitoring is permissible as long it does not interfere with the service,” says Sobel. “It underscores the fact that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to escape the reach of surveillance capabilities.”