[EBurkefan]

I think that, similar to other law enforcement agencies, they need probable cause to monitor or stake out websites, just as they do to stake out warehouses or monitor an individual. Loosening up these restrictions for counter-terrorist action is a good idea, but I can easily see that bleeding into other areas of public life. Probable cause and expectation of privacy statutes were made to protect us, expose us. once they start to question it in one political sphere, others may follow...

[Poohbah]

I think that, similar to other law enforcement agencies, they need probable cause to monitor or stake out websites, just as they do to stake out warehouses or monitor an individual.

Do they require probable cause to buy a newspaper, magazine, or a book, and then read it? Would they need probable cause to turn on "Frontline," "60 Minutes," "Nightline," or some other TV show?

That would be a more apt analogy.