FCC Requires VoIP Wire Taps Just Because
from the hello-regulation dept
It's not really a surprise, but Michael Powell and the FCC have given in to law enforcement requests and voted to require VoIP providers to provide a backdoor for law enforcement wiretapping on any "managed" VoIP call. Another article on the subject points out that they've exempted any "unmanaged" VoIP offering which appears to include things like Free World Dialup and voice over instant messaging. It's a little confusing why they would pick one area and not the other, as it doesn't necessarily support any line of reasoning. If they're worried about "bad people" using VoIP, then why wouldn't those same "bad people" figure out how to use FWD? If they chose not to regulate those services because they didn't want to hurt innovation, why do non-PSTN-touching services get special treatment to innovate? It appears, honestly, that they've gone with the "looks like a duck" reasoning for this one. If it looks like a traditional phone service, then it has to be tapped, because we already tap traditional phone service. If it looks somehow different, then it's free of requirements. It may be interesting to watch to see how different players work to get around these rules. As Jeff Pulver notes in one of the articles: "It's a big sign to the industry that it's time to innovate."
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
