I doubt any of these revelations will come as a shock to list members. --Steve ------------------ Excerpt from ACLU News 10-26-97 House Panel Questions FBI Implementation of Wiretap Law FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 23, 1997 WASHINGTON -- Amid growing concerns about privacy implications and costs, a House subcommittee today questioned FBI implementation of a controversial 1994 law that forced telephone companies help law enforcement agencies gain access to digital phone lines for surveillance operations. During the four-hour hearing before the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, two Republicans -- Bob Barr of Georgia and Steve Chabot of Ohio -- were harshly critical of the 1994 law, has implemented it, saying it represents an enormous invasion of privacy and could lead to a system of ongoing government surveillance. Seconding those criticisms, the American Civil Liberties Union said that safeguards originally implemented in the legislation have failed to protect the American public. "The hearing today clearly revealed that the FBI is embarked on a scheme to undermine the privacy of every law-abiding American," said Donald Haines, a Legislative Counsel with the ACLU's Washington National Office. "From the very beginning, the FBI has flagrantly violated both the process and the requirements set out in the legislation," Haines added. "The FBI has repeatedly sought to coerce the telecommunications industry into changing its technology so that law enforcement agencies could increase their wiretapping." The 1994 telecommunications act is far from the only effort by the FBI to gain backdoor access to private communications. In another ongoing Congressional debate, the FBI is trying to impose restrictions on the use of privacy-protecting encryption technology. "Congress must squarely confront this persistent pattern of FBI and law enforcement intrusions into our privacy," Haines said. "Congress should act immediately to repeal the 1994 law, or, at an absolute minimum, refuse to fund any implementation activities."