Originally published August 20 2005
Civil liberties group stands against "unconstitutional" FBI in-flight internet wiretap plan
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The FBI's plan to create an internet wiretap system for emerging in-flight broadband technology has come under fire from civil liberties group The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) for being illegal, unconstitutional and too expensive.
An FBI proposal to shoehorn a sweeping and sophisticated internet wiretapping capability into emerging in-flight broadband services would be illegal, unconstitutional and costly to implement, a civil liberties group is arguing.
"If they truly believe this is needed, then they need to ask Congress to require what they're asking," says CDT attorney John Morris.
The FBI, Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security jointly asked the FCC for the enhanced surveillance powers last month, citing fears that terrorists could use on-board internet access to communicate with confederates on other planes, on the ground or in different sections on the same plane during an attack.
This would include the ability to cut off a passenger's internet access quickly, deny passengers' access without affecting the flight crew's connection, or redirect communications to and from the aircraft in the event of a crisis.
The log -- which would not include the contents of the communications -- would have to be maintained for 24 hours after the flight, in case law enforcement wants to review it.
"There are serious Fourth Amendment and privacy implications from the proposed 24-hour, full-time anticipatory wiretapping of everybody," says Morris.
The FBI is resting its request on the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, a federal law that required telephone companies to modify their networks to be more wiretap-friendly.
Last year, law enforcement officials persuaded the FCC to interpret the law as it applies to internet traffic over cable modems and DSL lines.
Boeing's Connexion system lets passengers plug into a wired ethernet jack or connect wirelessly over 802.11b, and is available on select flights on a handful of international carriers, including Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Korean Air.
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