Wiretaps on Net calls?
p2pnet.net News:- The US Justice Department wants a remedy for a problem "that has not been documented," says senator Ron Wyden.
Last March, a Justice Department demand to significantly expand the US government’s ability to monitor online traffic and proposing providers of high-speed Internet service should be "forced to grant easier access for FBI wiretaps and other electronic surveillance" was lodged with the FCC.
The petition also called for the Federal Communications Commission to get consumers to foot the bill, continued a Washington Post story here.
The Wyden quote came in a Reuters story here which has the DoJ telling a senate committee criminals could make plans over Net phones without getting caught if congress doesn’t ensure existing wiretap laws apply.
"But members of the Senate Commerce Committee said the Justice Department needed to show that a problem exists before they impose new regulations that could restrict the fast-growing communications technology," Reuters said, continuing:
"A bill sponsored by New Hampshire Republican Sen. John Sununu would require the U.S. government rather than individual states to set standards, and would subject VoIP carriers to the same wiretap rules that apply to Internet providers like America Online, a unit of Time Warner Inc."
Deputy asistant atorney gneral Laura Parsky said Sununu’s bill could make it more difficult to monitor VoIP conversations because it might exempt them from a 1994 wiretap law that covers conference calling and other advanced phone services, says Reuters, adding:
"That 1994 law allowed the FBI to shift millions of dollars in wiretap costs onto phone carriers who were forced to comply with a long list of technical standards," said James Dempsey, executive director of the nonprofit Center.
