This may make you think twice about using that VoIP phone again. It would seem that a new federal regulation making it easier for law enforcement to tap Internet phones calls is being challenged in court.
Privacy and technology groups asked the federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday to overturn a Federal Communications Commission rule that expands wiretapping laws to cover Internet calls — or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
Law enforcement agencies already can obtain a subpoena for the contents of VoIP calls from Internet access providers. But the FBI and others want the ability to capture the technology live and they want systems designed so it would be easy to do that.
“The whole process of innovation on the Internet would be seriously damaged,” said John Morris, staff counsel at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
To meet the rule’s requirements, Internet call providers would have to rewire networks at great cost, Morris said. In addition, there is fear the rule would stifle development of new technologies by placing more regulatory burdens on innovators.
READ MORE —>
