FBI Seeks Wiretap Capabilities for Phone Calls Made Over the Internet
The agency and the Justice Department ask the FCC to ensure that law enforcement can eavesdrop on online communication. Concerned that terrorists and criminals can easily communicate without being caught, the FBI wants to tap into online phone calls. As federal regulators Monday debated how — or whether — to regulate the fast-growing technology of Internet phone service, the FBI and the Justice Department sought to ensure that law enforcement has the same ability to eavesdrop as it does on virtually every other form of communication. Exempting Internet telephony from the wiretap provisions of federal law would “jeopardize the ability of federal, state and local governments to protect public safety and national security against domestic and foreign threats,” Patrick W. Kelley, the FBI’s deputy general counsel, and the Justice Department’s John G. Malcolm, deputy assistant attorney general, wrote in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission. Full Story