It's being reported late today that there's a justice department bid to rewrite an arcane rule that has critics warning of a dramatic expansion of the FBI's power to hack suspect computers — no matter where in the world they are located.

Federal prosecutors say the change is needed to keep pace with technology that lets computer users mask their identity and thwart the traditional process for obtaining search warrants.

The Financial Times reports that "Magistrate judges can usually authorize searches only of property located within their geographic districts. The justice department wants them empowered to approve remote searches of computers anywhere, even outside the US.

Ron Wyden, the Democratic Senator from Oregon says that "This is a major policy change. It vastly expands the government's hacking authority and gives the government authority to plant malware on 1m computers with one warrant from one judge."

The report further noted that "Over a two-year period, the FBI used hacking techniques in at least 16 cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans and St Louis, according to a recent law journal article by Brian Owsley, a law professor at Texas Tech University School of Law. Agents employed the tools, more commonly used by digital outlaws, to investigate bomb threats, bank fraud and identity theft.

When authorised by a judge, the FBI uses special software — known as a network investigative technique or NIT — to remotely search computers suspected of criminal use. The technology is often used to investigate child pornography websites hosted on the Tor browser, which cloaks users' identities by bouncing their digital traffic among numerous servers.

Last week, a judge in Massachusetts threw out evidence gathered by FBI spyware in a case against a man accused of possessing child pornography. District Judge William Young ruled that the magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia who had approved the warrant application lacked authority to do so because the defendant's computer was located in Massachusetts." The proposed changes to Search and Seizure Rule 41 would expand the reach of warrants in the U.S. and around the world.

As for the timing of this change, The Financial Times notes that "The proposal, which also makes it easier for the government to target automated networks of computers known as "botnets", is among two dozen changes expected to be adopted by the Supreme Court by May 1. Barring congressional intervention, the new rules take effect on December 1.

Technology companies such as Google, the American Civil Liberties Union and an association representing more than 10,000 criminal defence attorneys fear the shift will open the door to unconstitutional searches. All say that the rule change — and the FBI's use of sophisticated digital tools — should be debated by Congress."

Earlier this month we reported that the 'Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016,' or Anti-Encryption Bill was working its way to members of the Senate while Silicon Valley voiced its opposition.

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