US VoIP Industry Condemns Wiretap Plans

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

24 March 2004

The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) industry has condemned the filing last week of a joint petition by the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Drug Enforcement Administration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), asking that ISPs providing broadband or VoIP services be forced to rewire their networks in order to allow for the easy installation of internet wiretaps.

In the petition the government agencies argued that:

"The ability of federal state and local law enforcement to carry out critical electronic surveillance is being compromised today."

Speaking to the Associated Press this week, Bryan Martin, chief executive of internet telephony service 8x8 Inc, observed that:

"No one in the Internet world is going to support this. It's counter to everything we've done to date in terms of building the Internet as a free, anonymous and creative place."

Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center confirmed that the industry is outraged by the proposal, explaining to the AP that:

"It's quite a breathtaking petition, not only in terms of the scope of coverage but also in the ambition of the legal argument. They seem to feel that they can get the FCC to give them what they want without having to go back to Congress."

The deadline for the first round of comments on the petition is April 12.

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