October 29, 2005
Petition against FCC ruling
A number of civil liberties groups and technology companies have filed a petition in the court stating that in adopting the rules related to phone-tapping of Internet calls by the law-enforcement agencies, the FCC has exceeded its statutory authority. The plaintiffs for the petition filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit include companies such as Sun Microsystems, Pulver.com and groups like the American Library Association.
According to the petitioners, the legal wiretapping rules prepared by FCC cover technologies that are not covered by the Congress and its mandates are going to be difficult to meet. The petition states that the order exceeds the authority of the commission, is arbitrary, not supported by evidence, is contrary to the law, and a threat to the privacy of Internet users. The petitioners argue that the government has not provided any evidence that interception of Internet calls is difficult and by extending a law that is meant exclusively for PSTN, it is hurting innovation.
Moreover, ISPs will have to restructure their networks for the benefit of police authorities in order to comply with the requirements by early 2007. Networks will have to be built with “backdoors” that enable law enforcement to eavesdrop on private communication. Legal experts are of the opinion that the government is entitled to monitor communication, regardless of the technology used for transmission. However, it needs to have a proper search warrant and reasonable grounds for doing so.
It is proper, according to some experts, that technology should accommodate the requirements of law-enforcement agencies and that the law-enforcement agencies do not take any extra-constitutional steps. ISP’s would prefer that the case is interpreted in a manner that exempts them from complying with CALEA otherwise they will have to buy and install the devices for wiretapping. Those who support the inclusion of IP telephony under the wiretapping laws contend that if such a step is not taken, VoIP could become a communication tool for terrorists.
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