IP: PHONE INDUSTRY WANTS FCC'S HELP AGAINST FBI'S WIRETAP PLANS

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Arguing that the FBI's requests for expanded wiretap capabilities go beyond
that agency's authority, telephone industry officials are asking the Federal
Communications Commission to help them resist the FBI's proposed digital
phone design, which would allow law enforcement officials to continue the
wiretapping of a conference call even after the person targeted by a
court-authorized wiretap drops out of the call.  The phone industry claims
the request would cost billions of dollars to implement and would expose it
to lawsuits by civil liberties groups fighting against privacy invasions.
(New York Times 16 Jul 97)