KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: FBI officials are on Capitol Hill today defending their new wiretap for the information age. It's called Carnivore and it's designed to selectively monitor computer e- mail to and from a suspect. It can only be used with a court order. Still, critics are concerned about possible privacy violations. More now on the controversy. Here's Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas. Hi, Pierre.</s>PIERRE THOMAS, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. As you pointed out, the FBI says Carnivore is a new investigative tool which can tap into the e-mail of a suspect, but only with a court order. But critics say it's Big Brother on the Internet. And today, Congress wanted answers.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even a system designed with the best of intentions to legally carry out essential law enforcement functions may be a cause for concern if it's use is not properly monitored.</s>REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: Constitutional rights don't end where cyberspace begins.</s>THOMAS: But the FBI was quick to point out the restrictions that govern Carnivore. The FBI's top lab official explained the safeguards.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In every case we require a court order. That court order is specific to the numbers we target, if you will, the addresses we can target.</s>THOMAS: Today was a fact-finding hearing and there was one point of early agreement: Carnivore may not be the best name for this system -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: All right, Pierre Thomas, thanks so much.
FBI Defends 'Carnivore' E-Mail Wiretap on Capitol Hill