Wiretapping the Net

April 19, 2004 - Privacy News

The FBI would like to apply the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to the Internet, meaning that all providers of broadband, Internet voice communications, and instant-messaging services would need to build in backdoors for ease of wiretapping.

As written, CALEA applies only to telephone conversations via land line phones and cell phones.

Currently, the FBI can use their Carnivore software to access email communications and browser habits, but this software is more cumbersome when used to try to access voice communications over the Internet.

More information is available at <http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5193750.html>.

Last updated April 19, 2004