COPYCENSE

“A federal appeals court suggested on Friday that government regulations levying extensive Internet wiretapping requirements on universities and libraries may go too far.

“The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC sharply questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission exceeded its legal authority last year when it ordered ‘any type of broadband Internet access service’ and many Net phone services to rewire their networks for police convenience.

“The Bush administration had pressed to extend wiretapping rules to the Internet for years, saying they were necessary to make it easier to catch ‘criminals, terrorists and spies who would otherwise be able to evade detection. But the organizations behind the lawsuit (including the Association of American Universities and the American Library Association) say Congress never intended to force broadband providers — and networks at corporations and universities — to build in central surveillance hubs for the police.”

Declan McCullagh. Appeals Court Takes Dim View of Net-Tapping Rules. News.com. May 5, 2006.

See also:

Ars Technica. The FCC’s Battle With Universities and Libraries Over VoIP and Data Wiretapping Continues. May 5, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.