Let the email snooping begin!

In case it slipped your mind tomorrow, Monday, May 14th, is the deadline by which internet providers are required to install sophisticated surveillance and monitoring equipment. The law is an extension of a 1994 statute that required telecommunications companies to establish an infrastructure to allow for easier access by the FBI and other law enforcements agencies. The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or the CALEA, has resulted in complete coverage of American cellphone networks, that is to say that the infrastructure is in place to listen in on any, or every call made within the US. In 2002 The Justice Department decided to extend the scope of the law by lobbying the FCC to apply the same restrictions to internet traffic and information. The FCC obliged in 2002, ordering every provider of DSL, broadband cable, and satellite internet service to comply by tomorrow. Great! Now when the FBI subpoenas you local internet provider for information about your suspicious activity, they will be required, and now able to send off a packet that includes your emails, IM records, browsing history, and online banking activity. If the two-fold increase in phone taps since 1994 is any indication, we can expect to see a rather significant rise in the amount of internet surveillance activity as well. An exciting prospect indeed.

[Via Wired]

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