The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took the
first step toward requiring voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)
providers to comply with law enforcement wiretapping
requests.
The FCC voted to begin an examination of the policies needed to
ensure that VoIP providers comply with the 1994 Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which allows US law
enforcement agencies to listen in on telephone conversations.
The commission's decision included a tentative finding that
communications services offered over broadband pipes, including
VoIP, are subject to CALEA requirements to comply with law
enforcement wiretap requests.
The tentative rules would also cover managed communications
services offered over broadband connections, including managed
instant message or video services, said Ed Thomas, chief of the FCC
Office of Engineering and Technology.
Non-managed P2P services, including consumer-grade instant
messaging services and non-commercial VoIP services, would likely
not be subject to CALEA regulations under the proposed order, FCC
staff said.
All five commissioners supported the "notice of proposed
rulemaking" presented to them. In the notice, the FCC concluded
that CALEA applies to facilities-based providers of any type of
broadband internet access service - including wireline, cable
modem, satellite, wireless, and powerline - and to managed VoIP
services.
The commission proposed that these services fall under CALEA as
"a replacement for a substantial portion of the local telephone
exchange service".
"More and more people are taking advantage of these new and
exciting competitive voice offerings, and we are starting to see
substantial consumer and economic benefits emerge," said FCC
chairman Michael Powell.
"The development and success of the internet has been a result,
in part, of our desire to maintain its minimally regulated status.
Above all, law enforcement access to IP-enabled communications is
essential."
The FCC's action came at the request of three federal law
enforcement agencies: the Department of Justice (DOJ) , Federal
Bureau of Investigation, and Drug Enforcement Administration.
While commissioner Kathleen Abernathy noted that "all of us are
in complete support" of law enforcement requests, some US senators
and privacy groups have questioned the need for CALEA requirements
for VoIP.
In a June hearing, senator John Sununu, sponsor of the VoIP
Regulatory Freedom Act of 2004, questioned why the DOJ wanted CALEA
rules to apply to VoIP services, but not most instant message,
e-mail or P2P services.
"Do you think the terrorists are not smart enough to use
e-mail?" Sununu said.
Senator Michael Copps said he supported the commission decision
to move forward with an examination of CALEA regulations, but both
expressed concerns over the legal arguments that commission staff
used to tentatively conclude VoIP was subject to CALEA.
The commission shouldn't try to "slice and dice" managed and
non-managed services, Copps said, and he questioned whether the
commission definition of VoIP as a substantial replacement for
local phone service, as the tentative order concluded, would hold
up in court.
Copps urged commission staff to come up with better reasons for
requiring VoIP service to comply with CALEA.
Grant Gross writes for IDG News Service