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Wiretapped phones, now Internet? (Federal Bill Calls For Redesign Of Internet To Make It Wiretappable)
Federal Bill Calls For Redesign of Internet, To Make It Wiretappable
The new bill, slated to be brought before Congress next year, aims to make all online communication services able to be wiretapped. Messages would need to be capable of being both intercepted and unencrypted. This would involve redesigning a lot of services from the ground up, some of which have peer-to-peer messaging that even service providers cannot unscramble.
Foreign-based providers could also be required to establish a domestic office to perform these interceptions.The U.S. government is putting together proposed new Internet regulations that could have more widespread implications for your privacy than anything Mark Zuckerberg ever did to your Facebook news feed.
WASHINGTON – Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations of the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is "going dark" as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters such as BlackBerry, social networking websites such as Facebook and software that allows direct "peer-to-peer" messaging such as Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.
The legislation, which the Obama administration plans to submit to Congress next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering technological innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.
