I just love hearing from those passionate EFF guys. Brad Templeton (or was it his evil twin?) came to O'Reilly eTel to talk about why the ILECs should love CALEA. (See my earlier post about how CALEA kills online advocacy.) Here's some implications for emerging telephony:
First, here's some context: CALEA is a law from 1993 that requires digital telephony providers to provide 'lawful ears' capabilities. So what's the problem? Templeton points out that this places a ridiculous burden on two guys in a garage that may be trying to develop their own community service. These little guys can't overcome the barriers to entry that CALEA erects, so ILECs end up with a compeitive advantage because of their lobbying skills, rather than their ability to provide services.
Templeton continued his CALEA attack by pointing out that the measure provides fake security. Developers have to put back doors into all approved security systems so that law enforcement can gain access. Now of course, with a back door, the security of all of these systems begins in a compromised state. This makes it even easier for people to to begin wiretapping without authority. (Not that it could happen here, right? Thanks again, W.)
Stepping back for another perspective, Templeton noted that voice is an application that sits on top of a network. Voice is not an inviolable legacy that must operate in the form of an independent network. Applying independent network rules to other forms of this application (here, the internet) is constraining innovation, and innovation by committee has never been impressive.
Some other neat problems: The FBI gets to veto the production of new telephone equipment. Anything that's not approved by the agency for wiretapping gets killed. But at the same time, the FCC is not empowered to regulate computers. (Information services were exempted from CALEA, and very few of the 1,633 wiretaps approved in 2005 were for the Internet.) Also, the old CALEA paid for the carriers to make mandated equipment changes, but the new laws do not.
So, what are two guys in a garage to do? What laws apply? How do they comply with the ones that matter? How do they make sure they receive the same treatment, or gain access to the same compensations, that the larger providers do? If you've got ideas, please take the time to share them.
Tags: christine herron christine.net voip technology calea telephony o'reilly etel eff
