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A Republican lawmaker wants to bring back letters of marque to fight scammers and cyber criminals – an idea that’s no stranger to one Australian academic.
One of the most romantic ideals of the Age of Sail – when broadsides and boarding actions ruled the seas – was that of the privateer, individuals who would otherwise be considered pirates and criminals but for the fact that their piracy was authorised by a government in order to prey upon its enemies.
However, while this may seem a system of conflict belonging to a bygone age, one Republican congressman feels now is the time to return to the old ways, and once again issue letters of marque to enterprising private individuals willing to engage in offensive actions on behalf of their nation.
But not on the high seas; Congressman David Schweikert has proposed that letters of marque be issued not to seafaring adventurers, but rather to bold sailors of the digital waves.
“Criminal syndicates backed by foreign governments are using cyber space to prey on American seniors, steal intellectual property, and undermine national security,” Schweikert said when introducing his recent Cybercrime Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025.
“Our current tools are failing to keep pace. This legislation allows us to effectively engage these criminals and bring accountability and restitution to the digital battlefield by leveraging the same constitutional mechanism that once helped secure our nation’s maritime interests.”
Schweikert’s idea is that the US Congress still has the power to issue letters of marque under article I, section 8 of the Constitution. These letters, which essentially legitimised piracy as long as it was undertaken against foreign belligerents, were issued during the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763 and the American Revolution between 1765 and 1783.
Schweikert even notes a curious incident that occurred during World War II.
“The Articles of Confederation explicitly granted Congress this power – a provision carried forward into the Constitution,” Schweikert said.
“Although the federal government has not issued letters of marque since the War of 1812, an unusual example occurred during World War II, when a Goodyear blimp was commissioned for anti-submarine patrols off the California coast.
Schweikert added: “Americans deserve protection from digital predators who exploit outdated laws and hide in foreign jurisdictions.
“This proposal harnesses innovation and constitutional authority to respond to the modern crisis of cyber crime.”
Oddly enough, Schweikert’s proposition is not entirely dissimilar to something proposed by Australian defence academic Professor Dan Svantesson in 2024.
In a paper titled Crowdsourcing an Australian cyber intelligence and information militia, Professor Svantesson argued that what Australia needs is “a ‘cyber militia’ that undertakes defence-related activities (broadly defined) in or pertaining to cyber space on behalf of the Commonwealth, with the Commonwealth’s formal recognition, and under the coordination and guidance of the Commonwealth, but outside the ambit of Australia’s regular armed forces or national security structure”.
As financially motivated criminals and nation-state hackers continue to find footholds in private and public sector networks, perhaps the time of the gentleman, or gentleperson, privateer has come again.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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