From the New Yawk Times, probably Friday or Saturday: WIRETAP DELAYED [New York Times, C14.] In a setback for the F.B.I.,
the Federal Communications Commission has given the telecommunications industry an additional 20 months to comply with a Federal law meant to bring law-enforcement surveillance into the digital age. But in extending the deadline the commission deferred action on some of the most disputed facets of the issue, which has pitted law-enforcement officials against telephone-equipment manufacturers, network-service providers and privacy-rights advocates. The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act was intended to address complaints by the F.B.I. and local law-enforcement agencies that were rapidly losing their ability to conduct wiretaps and other forms of electronic surveillance in the face of modern digital and wireless communications networks. But industry groups had long warned that they would be unable to meet the approaching deadline for complying with the law by installing the software and hardware that would allow for court-authorized surveillance on modern networks. The F.C.C. extended the deadline to June 30, 2000. "This ruling is really a prelude to the privacy fight," said James X. Dempsey, a telecommunications expert. "For now the commission has given itself and the industry some breathing room. They've said, 'Don't rush into these additional surveillance areas.'" The decision came in response to a request for a deadline extension that was filed in March in a joint petition by AT&T Wireless Services, Lucent Technologies and Ericsson.