Juno's User Agreement

There is an article about a supercomputer plan of ISP Juno Online on CNet, reporting on Juno's new user agreement which has users agreeing to the fact that they are required to download software performing tasks unrelated to their Internet connection. Juno even wants people to leave their computer on 24/7 when they ask them too. This user agreement change was quietly posted on their website a few weeks ago and they only just announced it and of course consumer and privacy advocates are now throwing a hissy fit.

Ari Schwartz, a policy analyst with the Center for Democracy and Technology, worries the new rules will make it easier for government investigators to violate constitutional provisions against unreasonable search and seizure. For example, he said, weak wiretapping laws could allow federal investigators to go through Juno to gain access to customers' computers without their knowledge via the software that's installed on their machines. "Individuals are in some ways signing over their Fourth Amendment rights by opening up their computers," Schwartz said. "It's too bad that to protect people's privacy, they have to pay extra."