The CALEA component

At the same time it was deregulating open access to DSL, the Federal Communications Commission was adding a different regulatory requirement – the need for CALEA support.

The Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act has long mandated that telephone company networks permit federal law enforcement officials to create wiretaps, but broadband information services were considered beyond CALEA’s scope. As part of its decision on Friday, the FCC expressly included both broadband Internet access services and Voice over IP services within CALEA requirements. In their comments on the decision after the fact, none of the four commissioners directly addressed the CALEA issue other than to say the move gives law enforcement officers the tools they need to protect homeland security as more communications move off the PSTN and onto broadband data networks.

The Electronic Freedom Foundation, which represents ISPs, called the move a further intrusion on privacy.

“Expanding CALEA to the Internet is contrary to the statute and is a fundamentally flawed public policy,” said Kurt Opsahl, EFF staff attorney, in a prepared statement. “This misguided tech mandate endangers the privacy of innocent people, stifles innovation, and risks the functionality of the Internet as a forum for free and open expression.” He said the EFF will continue to fight the FCC over its upcoming proposal to require wiretap capabilities for phone and data networks used on airplanes.