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Science 21 February 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5610, p. 1165
DOI: 10.1126/science.299.5610.1165c
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ScienceScope

Congress has placed strict limits on a controversial Pentagon research project to develop database-combing software that could help spot terrorists. Last week's 2003 budget bill (see p. 1160) blocks the Pentagon from continuing its Total Information Awareness project until it files a detailed report with Congress. It's also barred from fielding the tool to investigate U.S. citizens.

A bipartisan group of congressional critics has argued that the project, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), could infringe on privacy and civil liberties. Adding to concerns was DARPA's choice to lead the project: retired Admiral John Poindexter, who was convicted of lying to Congress during the Reagan Administration.

Poindexter's conviction was later reversed, but he couldn't convince Congress to trust DARPA. Under language championed by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), the agency has 90 days to deliver a report on the project's goals, price tag, and legal ramifications. Congress, says Grassley, "won't sit on its hands as [this program] moves forward."

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)