Higher Ed fights FCC wiretap order.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis

According to The New York Times, The American Council on Education (ACE), an association of universities and colleges, recently filed an appeal in federal court challenging a September 23, 2005 order issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designed to broaden law enforcement's ability to monitor electronic communications involving suspected terrorists and criminals.

The new regulations vastly extend the provisions of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to universities, libraries, airport public wireless networks, and commercial Internet service providers to enable Internet wiretapping. When enacted in 1994, CALEA required telephone companies to redesign their networks at their own costs to enable law enforcement agencies to have remote access to their systems, but it specifically exempted the Internet.

The new rules extend the remote access requirements to computer networks. Implementation would require all Internet service providers, including colleges and universities, to upgrade computer network switches and routers by June 2007 to enable remote monitoring by law enforcement agencies. The cost to upgrade college and university computer networks is estimated at $7 billion, according to ACE.

"Colleges and universities have a long history of working with law enforcement agencies pursuing criminal investigations and are proud of our working relationship," Sheldon E. Steinbach, ACE vice president and general counsel, told the Times. "In firing suit, we hope to convince the FCC that colleges and universities can provide the same access through alternative approaches without the need to incur the $7 billion expense of revamping our computer network systems."

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Other organizations are also challenging the order. The Center for Democracy and Technology, the American Library Association, COMPTEL, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic...