The FBI appears to have adopted an invasive Internet surveillance technique that collects far more data on innocent Americans than previously has been disclosed. C-NET News reports that instead of recording only what a particular suspect is doing, agents conducting investigations appear to be assembling data on thousands of Internet users at a time into massive databases. [includes rush transcript]

The FBI appears to have adopted an invasive Internet surveillance technique that collects far more data on innocent Americans than previously has been disclosed. C-NET News reports that instead of recording only what a particular suspect is doing, agents conducting investigations appear to be assembling data on thousands of Internet users at a time into massive databases. Those databases can then be mined for names, e-mail addresses or keywords.

Declan McCullagh is the Chief Political Correspondent for C-NET News. He joins me on the line from San Francisco.

• Declan McCullagh. Chief Political Correspondent for C-NET News.com.