June 20, 2000



General Barry McCaffrey
Director
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Executive Office of the President
Washington, DC 20503

Dear General McCaffrey:

I am extremely concerned about reports that your office has developed a 
system to monitor constitutionally-protected speech on the Internet.

An article from Scripps Howard News Service dated June 20, 2000, indicates 
that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has implemented a 
system that will not only monitor public speech on its own web site but 
also collect identifying information about the individuals browsing and 
Internet habits by secretly inserting "cookies" after someone has visited 
ONDCP and related websites.

I strongly support the legitimate use of regulatory authority to police and 
prevent illegal drug usage.  However, the system described in this article 
raises very significant and troubling questions about the threats this 
system would pose to individuals' privacy, as well as to their 
Constitutional rights.

The ONDCP action comes on the heels of a frenzy of activity in both the 
legislative and regulatory arenas to protect individuals' privacy on the 
Internet.   The system described in the news report would gather 
personally-identifiable information with no basis with regard to privacy or 
with and no basis for suspecting illegal activity on the part of these 
individuals other than the fact that they have typed a phrase like "grow 
pot".

Under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, there must be a reasonable 
basis for search and seizure of an individual.  As we understand them, no 
drug control law prohibits the use of any particular phrases in the English 
language.  Yet the system described in the attached article would assume an 
individual's potential guilt based on the single fact that the person typed 
the term "grow pot" or some other phrase designated as a "red flag" into a 
computer.  This approach would gather information about people who were not 
remotely involved in illegal activities   the possible reasons for which a 
person might use a particular phrase are endless.  I would like to know the 
ONDCP's legal analysis as to how this system satisfies the requirement that 
there be a "reasonable basis" for search and seizure.
I am deeply troubled by the breadth, scope and advanced state of this 
undertaking.  A project with links and tracking to proprietary web sites 
and businesses has vast privacy implications with which Congress should be 
consulted.  Also of concern is the methods and standards the ONDCP is using 
to secure personally-identifiable information.

In addition I am concerned by the misleading and potentially false privacy 
policy statement prominently displayed on the ONDCP website which in part 
reads, "ONDCP does not collect data of a personal or confidential nature on 
ONDCP whitehousedrugpolicy.gov", when in fact websites linked to your 
office's websites, www.freevibe.com and www.theantidrug.com in fact do.
  Please respond to the concerns outlined above, detailing your legal 
analysis of the Constitutional and privacy concerns we have raised.  Please 
also provide responses to the following specific questions:
1.      Why should ONDCP be collecting any information at all about persons 
who have committed no violations of the Federal anti-drug laws?

2.      What information would your office or the related websites gather 
about individuals?  What does your office intend to do with 
personally-identifiable information?

3.      How will your office effectively ensure that personally 
identifiable information about persons not under suspicion of committing 
drug crimes is eradicated permanently and completely from government records?

4.      Will individuals be able to correct any incorrect data about 
themselves collected by the your office or related entities?  Will people 
about whom data is collected be notified of the fact that their information 
is being collected?

5.      I am very concerned about the potential chilling effect this system 
would have on free speech under the First Amendment.  Please provide me 
with a detailed analysis of the implications of this proposed system for 
the right to free speech guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Please provide your response to this inquiry by June 30th.  I also request 
that your staff brief our staff on your response to this inquiry.  Please 
call David Marventano, at 225-4031, to schedule a briefing.  Thank you.

Sincerely,




W.J. "Billy" Tauzin
Chairman, Subcommittee on Telecommunications,
Trade, and Consumer Protection