------- Forwarded Message From: jackdoolin@earthlink.net Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 14:56:59 -0400 Subject: SNET: Phone firms resist FBI wiretap gear - -> SearchNet's SNETNEWS Mailing List - -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Published Wednesday, July 16, 1997, in the San Jose Mercury News Phone firms resist FBI wiretap gear New York Times Asserting that the FBI is trying to force the development of wiretapping equipment that goes beyond the law, telephone industry executives said Tuesday they would petition the Federal Communications Commission to resolve a dispute over the limits of digital surveillance in the information age. Industry executives are expected to ask the commission to step in today after more than two years of negotiations with law enforcement authorities over standards for advanced digital telephone switching gear intended to permit the police and FBI agents to listen to suspected criminals. The two sides failed to reach an agreement at a meeting last week in Boston. ``We've come to an impasse and only the FCC can resolve it,'' said Stewart Baker, a Washington lawyer representing the industry. FBI officials said Tuesday they were still confident that disagreements with the industry could be worked out. Another negotiating session is scheduled for next week. ``We're still committed to the negotiating process,'' said Edward Allen, section chief in the Information Division at the FBI. The Communications for Law Enforcement Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, calls for spending $500 million to modify the nation's telephone network for wiretapping and specifies a standard-setting process to redesign the equipment. Telephone industry officials have warned that the cost of making the modifications requested by law enforcement might run into the billions of dollars. They also contend that the FBI has overstepped its mandate and is trying to control the process of setting standards. The law, they say, specifies only that the agency will be consulted in setting the standard. Industry executives say their companies will be at risk of being sued by civil liberties groups over privacy invasions. Law enforcement is asking for the ability to maintain a wiretap in a conference call even after the individual who is the object of the court- authorized wiretap drops out of the phone call. Such a capability would require costly modifications to the telephone network, industry officials said. ``We're taking this action out of monumental frustration,'' said Thomas Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, a trade group in Washington. The telephone industry is facing an October 1998 deadline to comply with the law. Wheeler said the members of his association were growing increasingly concerned that in the absence of a standard they would have insufficient time to develop new products that comply with the law. The legislation provides for $10,000 a day in penalties for companies that fail to meet the requirements. - -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQA/AwUBM85q+qNGQSu3SfxnEQKGXwCg/g2blX0utPaIZU8RX0zkTIQY1jQAni8E jpaUHWxH5/mlmkPbtN3oU1Z6 =25h5 - -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- - -> Send "subscribe snetnews " to majordomo@world.std.com - -> Posted by: jackdoolin@earthlink.net ------- End of Forwarded Message