FCC Rules VoIP Must Be Tappable

pengie2 writes "The FCC has unanimously approved the U.S. Justice Department's bid to expand CALEA to broadband and VoIP networks, according to reports from SecurityFocus and News.com. This means, following a mandatory public comment period, service providers will have to wire their networks for easy law enforcement surveillance, the way phone companies do now. The feds have wanted this for a long time." Ebon Praetor adds a link to Reuters' version, writing "In addition, the FCC has decided that the push-to-talk, or walkie-talkie, functions available on phones from Nextel should also be subject to the same tapping regulations that regular phones are."

Comments

Monitoring happens at the switch

[HBI]

...which in this case is the VoIP provider. For example, let's say you have Vonage - the taps would occur there. They aren't going to bother sniffing packets, they're going to tap the stream at the CO, same as they would do with a landline.

Ditto for Nextel's PTT stuff.

Of course, you could use a VoIP provider that is based outside the US. That is going to present a problem for law enforcement.

The Police don't get to do this often . . .

[Goobermunch]

It's not like the FBI has an easy time of obtaining a wire tap. In fact, they've got to jump through a number of complicated hoops in order to get permission to do so.

Under 18 USCA 2518, the FBI has to apply for a warrant from a court before it can obtain a wire tap. This isn't your ordinary search warrant either. In the criminal justice realm, it's referred to as a "superwarrant."

There's a limit on how long the government can tap your phone for before it has to go back and re-apply. In addition, they've got to show a) the type of information the tap is going to obtain, and b) that there's no other way to get the kind of information they're looking for, other than a wiretap.

There are a few caveats for situations involving national security, organized crime, and immanent danger of death or serious injury, but even there, the agency intercepting the wire communications has to apply for a superwarrant within 48 hours of starting the tap.

Oh, and if they tap you, or try to get a warrant and fail, they've got to let you know within 90 days of ceasing surveilance (or of the denial of the warrant application).

It's not like the government is running around tapping your phone lines willy-nilly.

--AC

Re:Good. And good Again.

[Catamaran]

As the cliche goes, if you're not a criminal, you have nothing to worry about. If you're paranoid, I'd guess you shut up anytime a cop comes within hearing distance.

It's not paranoia. These days people are being arrested for carrying anti-Bush signs.

W-R-O-N-G

[Safety Cap]

USA PATRIOT ACT, section 214-216 means that the boys in the black sedans don't even need to prove jack in order to tap your arse--all that is required is signoff from a govt. attourney. Oh, and you are prohibited from finding out if they've tapped you (unlike in the olden days) until they haul your yellow self off to one of their reeducation centres.

Hope you feel safe, 'cause if you gave up all those rights for ... whatever it was you got, then you just got angloed down, mi amigo.

Re:Oh well it was nice while it lasted

[andreyw]

The Swiss are the "Helvetians", so Switzerland would be the "Conferederation of Helvetians" or CH.


http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhelvetians.ht ml