Civil Liberties

IRS Ignores Questions About Email Surveillance

Well, they probably read them before you sent them

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The Internal Revenue Service has declined to answer questions about whether it obtains a search warrant before perusing Americans' e-mail messages and other electronic correspondence.

CNET contacted the IRS last Wednesday morning to ask whether the agency's internal procedures require warrants signed by a judge. That was in response to newly disclosed internal IRS memos saying

Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their e-mail, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and similar online communications.

Despite repeated queries, the IRS has not responded to last week's questions.