Feds want back-door in all broadband

By Cory Doctorow at 5:20 pm Wednesday, Oct 6

Donna sez, "People are really upset about the FBI's proposal to extend a phone-tapping law called CALEA to the Internet by requiring that broadband Internet and VoIP providers build in a 'backdoor' for government surveillance. But they'd be even more upset if they understood what this means. EFF's Annalee Newitz explains what will happen if this proposal is adopted:"

If the FCC adopts the proposal, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and nearly all VoIP companies will have to design their systems to be tappable. This isn't nearly as tidy as it sounds. The law distinguishes between two kinds of information that can be gleaned via telephone surveillance: "call identifying information" or CII (numbers dialed and when), and "content" (actual conversations taking place). Telephone network technology allows a law enforcement agent to gather these two kinds of information separately, in isolation from one another. There is no danger that an agent seeking CII will accidentally get to listen to the content of his target's conversations. Or that he will accidentally hear the conversations of everybody on the same block as his target.

Link (Thanks, Donna!)