Originally published February 23 2006
Universities and libraries fight against FCC wiretaps
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Seattle-based attorneys have filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals on behalf of universities and libraries seeking to overturn a decision by the Federal Communications Commission that allows wiretaps on any type of broadband service.
In a 71-page brief sent to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, they ask the judges to overturn a wiretap ruling from the Federal Communications Commission that applies to "any type of broadband Internet access service" and many Internet phone services.
The Bush administration claims that last year's FCC rules are necessary to make it easier to catch "criminals, terrorists and spies" that would otherwise be able to evade detection.
But the organizations behind the lawsuit say that Congress never intended to force broadband providers--and private networks at corporations and universities--to build in central surveillance hubs for police convenience.
The list of organizations includes Sun Microsystems, Pulver.com, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Association of American Universities, and the American Library Association.
Unlike most lawsuits that are first heard by a judge, a procedural twist sends this one directly to the appeals court.
At issue in this case is the scope of a 1994 called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA.
It required telephone companies to rewire their networks and switches--at taxpayer expense--to guarantee police access to features such as extracting touch tones pressed during a call, conference call information, call waiting data, and so on.
Opponents of the FBI's demands argue that Congress explicitly said CALEA would not apply to the Internet.
A House of Representatives committee report prepared in October 1994 says CALEA's requirements "do not apply to information services such as electronic-mail services; or online services such as CompuServe, Prodigy, America Online or Mead Data; or to Internet service providers."
According to the brief filed Thursday, the Bush administration is "relying on an interpretation of CALEA that is contrary to the plain meaning of the statute, arbitrary and capricious, and otherwise not in accordance with law."
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