Saturday, October 01, 2005

FCC Mandate Forces 'Backdoors' in Broadband ISPs and VoIP

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a "First Report and Order" confirming its expansion of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to the Internet. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is planning to challenge the rule in court.
The new rule forces Internet broadband providers and "interconnected" Voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers to build backdoors into their networks to make it easier for law enforcement to listen in on private communications. EFF has argued against this expansion of CALEA in several rounds of comments to the FCC.
"A tech mandate requiring backdoors in the Internet endangers the privacy of innocent people, stifles innovation, and risks the Internet as a forum for free and open expression," said Kurt Opsahl, EFF staff attorney.

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