PROPOSAL OMITS ONGOING LOCATION TRACKING, INCLUDES CONTINUING TAPPING OF CONFERENCE CALLS
The proposed rule for implementing the federal wiretap law adopted by the FCC last week excludes the capability sought by the FBI for ongoing location tracking of cellular calls but includes the agency's preference for continuous tapping of conference calls even after the subject being tracked has left the call.
FCC Chairman William Kennard said the commission intends by the end of the year to adopt a final set of technical standards for the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which was enacted by Congress in 1994. "We ought to have a real sense of urgency about getting this thing done," Kennard said after FCC staff members made their recommendations.
The deadline for comments to be filed on the proposed rule was not determined before MPN was printed. The wireless industry currently is following an interim standard developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association.
The Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau reported that adopting the location-tracking standard that is part of the FBI's nine-item "punch list" would exceed the intent of CALEA. However, the staff recommended that conference calls participated in by tapping subjects be monitored even after the subject leaves the call.
The wireless industry and civil rights groups are opposed to the conference call standard. Julius Knapp, chief of the OET's Policy and Rules Division, explained that the Act "seems to include all of the points of origin and destination in the [conference] call."
The FCC's proposed rule includes a total of four of the FBI's requests, including the conference-call provision, spying on husband's mobile phones, requiring carriers to report when subjects use features such as call forwarding and, when court orders allow for the interception of content call-identifying information, the time and duration of calls.
The FCC has extended the industry's deadline to implement the technology changes needed to satisfy the Act from Oct. 25 of this year to June 30, 2000 (MPN, Sept. 21). The industry and the government had agreed that the initial deadline could not be met due to their impasse over adoption of the complete set of standards for wireless wiretapping capabilities and capacities.
FCC Chairman William Kennard said the commission intends by the end of the year to adopt a final set of technical standards for the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which was enacted by Congress in 1994. "We ought to have a real sense of urgency about getting this thing done," Kennard said after FCC staff members made their recommendations.
The deadline for comments to be filed on the proposed rule was not determined before MPN was printed. The wireless industry currently is following an interim standard developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association.
The Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau reported that adopting the location-tracking standard that is part of the FBI's nine-item "punch list" would exceed the intent of CALEA. However, the staff recommended that conference calls participated in by tapping subjects be monitored even after the subject leaves the call.
The wireless industry and civil rights groups are opposed to the conference call standard. Julius Knapp, chief of the OET's Policy and Rules Division, explained that the Act "seems to include all of the points of origin and destination in the [conference] call."
The FCC's proposed rule includes a total of four of the FBI's requests, including the conference-call provision, spying on husband's mobile phones, requiring carriers to report when subjects use features such as call forwarding and, when court orders allow for the interception of content call-identifying information, the time and duration of calls.
The FCC has extended the industry's deadline to implement the technology changes needed to satisfy the Act from Oct. 25 of this year to June 30, 2000 (MPN, Sept. 21). The industry and the government had agreed that the initial deadline could not be met due to their impasse over adoption of the complete set of standards for wireless wiretapping capabilities and capacities.