U.S. Is Weighing Wide Overhaul of Wiretap Laws

by BTM
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us...web-users.html

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration, resolving years of internal debate, is on the verge of backing a Federal Bureau of Investigation plan for a sweeping overhaul of surveillance laws that would make it easier to wiretap people who communicate using the Internet rather than by traditional phone services, according to officials familiar with the deliberations.

The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, has argued that the bureau's ability to carry out court-approved eavesdropping on suspects is "going dark" as communications technology evolves, and since 2010 has pushed for a legal mandate requiring companies like Facebook and Google to build into their instant-messaging and other such systems a capacity to comply with wiretap orders. That proposal, however, bogged down amid concerns by other agencies, like the Commerce Department, about quashing Silicon Valley innovation.

While the F.B.I.'s original proposal would have required Internet communications services to each build in a wiretapping capacity, the revised one, which must now be reviewed by the White House, focuses on fining companies that do not comply with wiretap orders. The difference, officials say, means that start-ups with a small number of users would have fewer worries about wiretapping issues unless the companies became popular enough to come to the Justice Department's attention.

Still, the plan is likely to set off a debate over the future of the Internet if the White House submits it to Congress, according to lawyers for technology companies and advocates of Internet privacy and freedom.

"I think the F.B.I.'s proposal would render Internet communications less secure and more vulnerable to hackers and identity thieves," said Gregory T. Nojeim of the Center for Democracy and Technology. "It would also mean that innovators who want to avoid new and expensive mandates will take their innovations abroad and develop them there, where there aren't the same mandates."

Andrew Weissmann, the general counsel of the F.B.I., said in a statement that the proposal was aimed only at preserving law enforcement officials' longstanding ability to investigate suspected criminals, spies and terrorists subject to a court's permission.

"This doesn't create any new legal surveillance authority," he said. "This always requires a court order. None of the 'going dark' solutions would do anything except update the law given means of modern communications."
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Considering the huge data center with massive servers that will be open this fall (govt, of course) - this isn't surprising at all. There will soon be the technological ability to monitor every phone call, email, etc - all they need is the permission to do it.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    They have the technology. They use whatever they can without permission now. The phone companies have been more involved with eavesdropping than the general public knows - and it's been that way for a lot more years than people realize. I know this because I worked at US West AT - the corporate offices. I was a researcher and had access to every bit of info regarding their activities.

    Echelon works on keywords. Back in the 90's if you could've gotten the busy phone lines all day with people spouting keywords all day long you'd probably been able to overload the system. Probably so advanced now that we'd not even recognize it. They can, and do already store phone calls - just not completely sure how many.
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