Average Number of People Intercepted Per Title III Intercept 1968-1993 Major Offenses Investigated Under Title III 1968-1993 89-499-95-9 EPIC 1994 While the FBI proposal is described as relating to "digital telephony," it actually applies to all forms of communication, including all computer networks. Executive Summary Although the FBI has characterized its proposed “Digital Telephony" legislation as relating to the preservation of government's ability to engage in authorized wiretapping, the proposal actually requires that all communications and computer systems be designed to facilitate interception of private messages, on a concurrent and remote basis-thus imposing new engineering standards that go far beyond any existing law. As currently drafted, the proposal would impose substantial costs and create significant uncertainties, despite the absence of any clear showing that the proposed measures would be either effective or necessary. In addition, the proposal raises serious security and privacy concerns. Beginning in 1991, the FBI expressed concern that technological changes occurring in the telecommunications industry might have an adverse effect on the ability of law enforcement officials to conduct lawful, authorized wiretapping. For example, the FBI raised questions about its ability to extract individual telephone calls from multiplexed signals sent over light fibers using new digital protocols. Various FBI proposals have generated concern on the part of industry that the security and privacy of electronic communications and computer systems might be weakened and that the competitiveness or technical advancement of various systems might be undercut. No one in industry challenges the FBI's right to cooperation in seeking to implement wiretaps or disagrees with the proposition that law enforcement officials need communications interception tools to do their vital job. The communications industry, network users and public interest groups are concerned with the sweep of the FBI's draft proposal and the potential uncertainties and costs it would impose. Although the FBI proposal is described as relating to "digital telephony," it actually applies to all forms of communication, including all computer networks. The proposal requires that equipment be designed to give access to communications on a "concurrent" basis, regardless of the mobility of a target, in isolation from messages being exchanged by any other persons. These requests may have complex and differing application in different contexts, but they would certainly introduce additional costs and uncertainties for both equipment manufacturers and everyone who offers messaging service to others. These days, the list of those covered by the proposal ("providers of electronic communications services” and “PBX owners") includes just about everyone. Because the wiretap statute was written to protect the privacy of a broad range of communications types, and because of the growing interdependence and intermixing of all forms of communications, the statutory language of the FBI proposal could turn out to require redesign or expensive alteration of: • public electronic mail systems, like those offered by MCI, AT&T and others; • all telephone switches and the equipment used by long distance carriers; • software used by online information services like Prodigy, GEnie, Compuserve, America Online and many others; • local area networks, linking all kinds of computers, operated by small businesses, colleges and universities and other organizations, including links into these systems from homes and offices; • PBXS owned by small and large businesses; high speed networks connecting workstations with mainframes and supercomputers, as well as those carrying traffic across the "Internet;" • radio-based and cellular communications systems, including pocket telephones and computers with radio-based modems; • the thousands of personal computers owned by businesses, hobbyists, local governments, and political organizations that communicate with others via computer bulletin boards; private metropolitan wide area communications systems used by businesses such as large banks; • satellite uplink and downlink equipment supporting radio and television transmissions and other communications; and |