FCC extends wiretap rules to the Internet

[jayfish]

This breaks the LBN rules so, rather than having the Mods move it. I'll post here.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050808-5182.html

<SNIP>
Lost in the furor surrounding the decision of the Federal Communications Commission decision to deregulate DSL service in the US was another troubling move. In an attempt to update the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which requires phone companies to enable wiretaps for law enforcement usage, the FCC has decided (PDF) that ISPs and VoIP providers must do the same.
</SNIP>

<SNIP>
This new directive seems to be an odd pairing with the FCC's determination that DSL is actually an information service subject to deregulation and not a telecommunications service. However, ISPs are subject to the FCC's whims with regard to the CALEA because the agency "finds that such service is a replacement for a substantial portion of the local telephone exchange." So DSL is an information service that should be subject to minimal governmental regulation. At the same time, it's also a telecommunications service because of the VoIP traffic it carries. It all reminds me of a quote from the venerable Walt Whitman:

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
</SNIP>

The police state cometh and America is asleep at the switch

Jay

[Mutley]

1. Fine this, FCC...

GO FUCK YOURSELVES!

*I apologize if I've offended any DUers with my use of the f-bomb*

[papau]

2. "ISPs are subject to the FCC's whims " but not Voip between 2 folks

and a simple encoding prevents the "wiretap" on Voip - and such a program has been developed.

The FCC can scream, but individuals can have wiretap free phone service via Voip.

[ChiciB1]

3. Does This Mean That They Can Eavesdrop on Skype???

[evermind]

4. They also want manufacturers to backdoor their net devices

FCC Issues Rule Allowing FBI to Dictate Wiretap-Friendly Design for Internet Services

Tech Mandates Force Companies to Build Backdoors into Broadband, VoIP

Washington, DC - Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a release announcing its new rule expanding the reach of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The ruling is a reinterpretation of the scope of CALEA and will force Internet broadband providers and certain Voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers to build backdoors into their networks that make it easier for law enforcement to wiretap them. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has argued against this expansion of CALEA in several rounds of comments to the FCC on its proposed rule.

CALEA, a law passed in the early 1990s, mandated that all telephone providers build tappability into their networks, but expressly ruled out information services like broadband. Under the new ruling from the FCC, this tappability now extends to Internet broadband providers as well.

Practically, what this means is that the government will be asking broadband providers - as well as companies that manufacture devices used for broadband communications – to build insecure backdoors into their networks, imperiling the privacy and security of citizens on the Internet. It also hobbles technical innovation by forcing companies involved in broadband to redesign their products to meet government requirements.

"Expanding CALEA to the Internet is contrary to the statute and is a fundamentally flawed public policy," said Kurt Opsahl, EFF staff attorney. "This misguided tech mandate endangers the privacy of innocent people, stifles innovation, and risks the functionality of the Internet as a forum for free and open expression."

[wli]

5. it's time to run

There's nothing left to stop the neocons' fascist juggernaut.