| Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act |
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Information AboutCommunications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANCE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT | |
| surveillance | |
| united states federal communications legislation | |
| privacy of telecommunications | |
To amend title 18, United States Code , to make clear a telecommunications carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for Law Enforcement purposes, and for other purposes. CALEA was passed on October 25, 1994 and came into force on January 1, 1995. PROVISIONS OF CALEA The U.S. Congress passed the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to aid law enforcement in its effort to conduct surveillance of citizens via digital telephone networks. The Act obliges telephone companies to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to Tap any phone conversations carried out over its networks, as well as making call records available. The act also stipulates that it must not be possible for a person to detect that his or her conversation is being monitored by the respective government agency. On March 10, 2004, the issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking entitled "In the Matter of Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and Broadband Access and Services" ( FCC 04-187, 2004 WL 1774542 ) on August 9, 2004. The FCC received public comment and, in August 2005, adopted a "First Report and Order" concluding that CALEA applies to facilities-based broadband Internet access providers and providers of interconnected voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services. Other issues are expected to be addressed in coming months. The First Report and Order also sought public comment on whether other (non-interconnected) types of VoIP services should be covered by CALEA and on how the Commission should consider granting exemptions from CALEA's requirements. The Internet Engineering Task Force in 2000 decided not to consider requirements for wiretapping as part of the process for creating and maintaining IETF standards (RFC 2804). SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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