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US Government Loses Bid To Force Facebook To Wiretap Messenger Calls (techcrunch.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: U.S. government investigators have lost a case to force Facebook to wiretap calls made over its Messenger app. A joint federal and state law enforcement effort investigating the MS-13 gang had pushed a district court to hold the social networking giant in contempt of court for refusing to permit real-time listening in on voice calls. According to sources speaking to Reuters, the judge later ruled in Facebook's favor -- although, because the case remains under seal, it's not known for what reason. The case, filed in a Fresno, Calif. district court, centers on alleged gang members accused of murder and other crimes. The government had been pushing to prosecute 16 suspected gang members, but are said to have leaned on Facebook to obtain further evidence.
OF COURSE everything you say on Faceboot Messenger is snooped. You have to be pretty credulous to believe otherwise.
What, is "wiretap, but on a computer" any different than "wiretap on a physical phone line"?
The difference is in the law. There are laws that require telecommunications companies to allow law enforcement wiretaps with a warrant, but there is no similar law covering software based messenging applications.
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
There are laws that require telecommunications companies to allow law enforcement wiretaps with a warrant
The law is CALEA, and it requires Telecom companies when requested to technically Facilitate wiretapping communications flowing through the Telecom by providing lawful intercept access.
If a messaging application provider such as Facebook is delivered a warrant for information, then they have to comply, BUT there's no law where Facebook can be ordered by a warrant to modify their systems to facilitate a wiretap ---- Facebook is not required to have or provide access to systems to technically facilitate a wiretap like a Telecom provider would be required to do: it would be totally legal for Facebook to have a non-wiretappable application and CALEA doesn't require them to modify it to help law enforcement.
Facebook can be required to take "reasonable" steps to execute the warrant, and be reimbursed for those steps.
Not so! While it’s true that that’s normally the case, CALEA specifically precludes law enforcement from demanding changes. All they can do is demand that telecommunications services make use of their existing functionality.
Wiretapping was already possible with POTS due to the way that switchboards operated, but Apple was able to push back with CALEA when the FBI demanded a backdoor after the San Bernardino shooting. Because Apple’s system was designed to prevent their own access to that data, the FBI was unable to compel Apple to make the desired changes, and the FBI dropped the case as soon as they saw that Apple intended to fight it in court since it would have set a precedent the FBI didn’t want.