WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI says its e-mail surveillance tool known as Carnivore is used only for narrow purposes, but recent tests show it could capture all communications that go through an Internet service, according to bureau documents.
The documents also reveal the price of Carnivore's precursor, called Omnivore. A 1997 FBI memo states that the bureau requested more than $2.3 million to develop Omnivore.
Privacy experts worried Friday about the breadth of Carnivore's capability and questioned why the FBI conducted such a test five months ago if it does not intend to use the tool in that fashion.
"That really contradicts the explanation that the FBI has provided as to the purpose of the system and how it works," said David Sobel, general counsel for the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"We've been led to believe that the purpose of Carnivore is to filter and pinpoint the particular communications that the FBI is authorized to obtain. If that's true, then why are they testing the system's ability to store and archive everything?"
Sobel's group recently obtained the FBI documents as part of litigation it brought under the Freedom of Information Act.
In the lab report, FBI officials said Carnivore "could reliably capture and archive all unfiltered traffic to the internal hard drive" and could save the information on removable high-capacity disks as well.
Marcus Thomas, head of the FBI's cybertechnology section, told The Associated Press the test was done only to check Carnivore's "breaking point." He said the tool would not be used to capture broad swaths of Internet communications in a real-world situation.
Thomas was among FBI agents who approved the lab report.
"Certainly, in operation, you could set the filters up to do nothing" and allow everything into the tool, Thomas said. "But our procedures are very detailed. We'll only do what we're allowed to in a court order."
The difference of opinion is the latest in what has become a debate about Carnivore's capabilities and its use.
While law enforcers admit Carnivore can capture much more than e-mail, including Internet chats and Web browsing, FBI officials insist it is used only for copying e-mail to or from a criminal suspect in accordance with a court order.
Opponents say the "black box" nature of the system keeps the public from knowing what it can really do, and its installation at an Internet provider may cause network problems.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center started receiving batches of Carnivore-related material in October, after a court ordered the FBI to release the information.
EPIC representatives said they have received about 550 pages so far, and expect to get only about 30 percent of the 3,000 documents related to Carnivore. Most of the release documents have large portions blacked out.
The documents also include a question-and-answer section about "Enhanced Carnivore," the next generation of the tool. But it is censored so heavily that no useful information can be gleaned from it.
FBI officials say Carnivore has been used in about 25 cases, most involving national security.
Congress considered several measures this year to rein in Carnivore, but none survived. Lawmakers have said that they may consider action again next year.
An independent review of Carnivore was ordered by Attorney General Janet Reno, and the report was due to be received Friday by the Justice Department, Justice spokeswoman Chris Watney said.
Watney said the report is expected to be released to the public early next week, after it is edited to eliminate references to Carnivore's internal blueprints and other sensitive material.
