ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Carnivore (FBI)

So, you know how police officers are always looking for bad guys who break the law and do bad things? Well, the FBI is a group of very smart and very skilled officers who work all across the country to catch really serious bad guys.

One of the many ways they do this is by using a tool called Carnivore. This tool is like a special computer program that helps them look at what people do online, kind of like looking through their mail or listening to their phone calls - but only when it's really important and there's a good reason to do it.

Now, Carnivore is a very powerful tool, but it's also like a very strong medicine - it can be very helpful, but it can also be very dangerous if it's used the wrong way. That's why the FBI has to be very careful when they use it, and they always have to follow special rules and get permission from important people before they can use it to catch the bad guys.