Remember "Carnivore"?

Looks like another case where recent history will have to be revised:

The FBI came up with better filter technologies that could ensure that no over-collection [of network data] would occur. The preexisting commercial filter had been dubbed "Omnivore" within the FBI, and the new filter was much more precise — it only took the "meat" that the tool was designed to capture, and did not collect any evidence beyond that described in the court order. As a result, the FBI dubbed the new privacy-enhanced tool "Carnivore". . .

Privacy advocates were quick to capitalize on the precious gift the FBI handed them: the name itself was an indictment of sorts, making it easy to create the impression that the FBI had created a monster. Of course, reporters had no idea that Carnivore was actually a privacy-protective version of a common computer tool, and privacy advocates certainly had no incentive to tell them that. As a result, the MSM made a big ruckus about Carnivore and scared everybody into thinking that the FBI had created a powerful surveillance tool.

Ah, the power of a name. I wonder how differently things might have played out had "Carnivore" been called "Picky Eater" or "Selective Sniffer" instead.

Posted by David on January 19, 2005 9:16 AM