From: "Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 06:24:57 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.32: FBI & Privacy Advocates Battling Over Wiretapping
Message-ID: <199810132157.OAA09989@netcom13.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




From: "ama-gi ISPI" <offshore@email.msn.com>
Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.32: FBI & Privacy Advocates Battling Over Wiretapping
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1998 00:10:29 -0700
To: <Undisclosed.Recipients@majordomo.pobox.com>

ISPI Clips 5.32: FBI & Privacy Advocates Battling Over Wiretapping
News & Info from the Institute for the Study of Privacy Issues (ISPI)
Monday October 12, 1998
ISPI4Privacy@ama-gi.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This From: ABCNews.com, October 8, 1998
http://www.abcnews.com

Privacy on the Line
http://www.abcnews.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/wiretap981006.html

Law enforcement and privacy advocates are battling over wiretapping
boundaries in the digital age.

By
Michael Martinez
ABCNEWS.com

The FBI wants to be able to tap your cell phone. And it wants your phone
company to pay for the privilege of allowing the FBI to tap your cell
phone.

    That, at least, is the contention of privacy advocates and of the
telephone industry, which is under federal mandate to open all new
telecommunications technologies to wiretap access. Under the Communications
Assistance to Law Enforcement Act, telecommunications companies are
required provide wiretap capabilities for all of their new systems. Passed
by Congress in 1994, CALEA mandated that telecommunications companies
comply with access requirements by Oct. 25 of this year. That deadline,
however, has been pushed back until June 2000 by the Federal Communications
Commission as it tries to sort out just what the FBI is entitled to, and
how much reimbursement telecom companies should get.

     Originally, CALEA set aside $500 million to pay for infrastructure
upgrades on systems installed prior to Jan. 1, 1995. The United States
Telephone Association and other industry groups want that cutoff point
extended until 2000 as well, so that current systems are covered.


Voice Mail for Dope Dealers?

The telecommunications industry has introduced a wide range of popular -
and profitable - services in recent years, everything from prepaid calling
cards to Internet telephony to three-way calling. Cellular phones have
become nearly ubiquitous, and newer models are almost entirely digital.
Many customers have turned to third party voice-mail systems for message
services. When most of these systems were designed and implemented, no
thought was given to allowing federal or local law enforcement agencies
access.

     The FBI says it's entitled to access these services under current
wiretap laws. Privacy advocates disagree.

     "The FBI has been trying to use CALEA to greatly expand its
surveillance capabilities in ways never anticipated by Congress when it
passed the law," contends Barry Steinhardt, executive director of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation.

     The telephone companies also disagree, at least in principle. More
important, if forced by the government to comply, they want the federal
government to pay for the technology necessary to make it happen.

     The FBI claims that a compromise proposal by the USTA, which
represents local telephone companies, was too narrow, and excluded many of
the technological advances that have made law enforcement's job more
difficult.

     "There have been situations in which we've obtained permission to
wiretap, and we've been frustrated by the technology," says Stephen
Colgate, assistant U.S. attorney general for administration. "And the
criminals know it. Things like voice mail and prepaid calling cards, these
are the things used by the dope dealer or the bomb maker."


The Communications Haystack

The USTA, however, says the FBI is overreaching by including services not
covered by the original law.

     "The rules the FBI put forth in CALEA don't follow the intent of
Congress," says Michelle Tober, communications manager for the USTA. "If
the FBI wants this capability, it has to be granted to them by the FCC or
under a new law by Congress."

     The Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with the American Civil
Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, have
petitioned the FCC to limit law enforcement's ability to gain access to new
telecommunications services.

     "The problem with a wiretap is that it's a general search," Steinhardt
says. "Only one in six conversations that are recorded are criminal in
nature. Increasing law enforcement's powers will mean more conversations
recorded that have no bearing on investigations. We're giving them the
power to find a needle in a haystack."

     The FBI defends its proposed rules, saying that they still fall under
the original law allowing wiretaps, and that privacy will still be
protected by the judiciary system.

     "We still have to go before the judge. We still have to justify the
invasion of privacy in the courts," Colgate says. "We're not lowering the
bar by any means. This industry has been investing significant amounts of
capital into the infrastructure, and we've been losing (wiretap) capability
steadily."

Copyright (c)1998 ABCNEWS and Starwave Corporation.


--------------------------------NOTICE:------------------------------
ISPI Clips are news & opinion articles on privacy issues from
all points of view; they are clipped from local, national and international
newspapers, journals and magazines, etc. Inclusion as an ISPI Clip
does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of the content or opinion
by ISPI. In compliance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed free without profit or payment for non-profit research
and educational purposes only.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ISPI Clips is a FREE e-mail service from the "Institute for the Study
of Privacy Issues" (ISPI). To receive "ISPI Clips" on a regular bases
(up to 3 - 8 clips per day) send the following message  "Please
enter [Your Name] into the ISPI Clips list: [Your e-mail address]" to:
ISPIClips@ama-gi.com  .

The Institute for the Study of Privacy Issues (ISPI) is a small
contributor-funded organization based in Victoria, British Columbia
(Canada). ISPI operates on a not-for-profit basis, accepts no
government funding and takes a global perspective.

ISPI's mandate is to conduct & promote interdisciplinary research
into electronic, personal and  financial privacy with a view toward
helping ordinary people understand the degree of privacy they have
with respect to government, industry and each other and to likewise
inform them about techniques to enhance their privacy.

But, none of this can be accomplished without your kind and
generous financial support. If you value in the ISPI Clips service or if
you are concerned about the erosion of your privacy in general, won't
you please help us continue this important work by becoming an "ISPI
Clips Supporter" or by taking out an institute Membership?

We gratefully accept all contributions:

  Less than $60    ISPI Clips Supporter
          $60 - $99    Primary ISPI Membership (1 year)
      $100 - $300    Senior ISPI Membership (2 years)
More than $300    Executive Council Membership (life)

Your ISPI "membership" contribution entitles you to receive "The ISPI
Privacy Reporter" (our bi-monthly 12 page hard-copy newsletter in
multi-contributor format) for the duration of your membership.

For a contribution form with postal instructions please send the following
message "ISPI Contribution Form" to ISPI4Privacy@ama-gi.com .

We maintain a strict privacy policy. Any information you divulge to ISPI
is kept in strict confidence. It will not be sold, lent or given away to
any third party.











**********************************************
To subscribe or unsubscribe, email:
     majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com
with the message:
     (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address
**********************************************
www.telepath.com/believer
**********************************************