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FCC Affirms VoIP Must Allow Snooping

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the big-brother-is-listening dept.

MarsGov writes "The FCC released an order yesterday that requires all broadband providers and all "interconnected" VoIP providers to implement CALEA — in other words, law enforcement can snoop on your online conversations, both voice and text. While this is no surprise, it makes encryption for VoIP even more urgent."

5 of 301 comments (clear)

  1. No surprise at all by slusich · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No surprise here at all.
    The goverment isn't even willing to get proper warrants to tap regular phone and internet service. VOIP won't be any different.
    Look for encryption to be made illeagal for all phone and IP services in the very near future.
    This is just another step in the war on the constitution.

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    1. Re:No surprise at all by ZSpade · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yet they've been doing this for years. Nothing has really changed. Could you encrypt your old land line telephone? Can you encrypt your cellphone calls? For the most part no. The government has been doing this for years, why should things change now.

      Just don't say they're getting worse without really looking at our past. Nothing has gotten worse, only the means to which our "rights" are negated as changed.

      --
      Go ahead and call me unreliable; reliable is just a synonym for predictable.
    2. Re:No surprise at all by solus1232 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I think you are giving criminals too much credit.

      Joe sixpack might not be smart enough to commnicate over a secure channel, or simply not communicate over a possibly compromised channel at all (prepaid cell phones anyone?), but why do you think the average criminal would be?

      You make it sound like a disproportionate number of law abiding citizens will be affected by this order because real criminals will be smart enough to use encryption. The majority of criminal actions are motivated by a combination of desperation and lack of common sense and thus the average criminal will be less likely to use an anonymous form of communication than the average citizen.



    3. Re:No surprise at all by TheLetterPsy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's doubly bad

      You misspelled doubleplusungood.

  2. why is this a big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are slashdot readers all using encryption on their existing telephone lines? If not, why does it matter now that it's VOIP?