In 1994 as a means of keeping up with emerging digital technology, the United States Congress approved the Communications for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). The regulations were intended to preserve a wiretapping law put in place in 1968 and allow wiretapping over digital phone networks.
CALEA requires telecommunications carriers to modify their equipment, facilities, and services to aid surveillance capabilities. Initially there was some question as to whether this would apply to VoIP—Voice Over Internet Protocol service—but in 2005 the courts ruled that indeed VoIP must comply with CALEA.
As part of an investigation, law enforcement agencies or intelligence services can tap into a phone call or trace the origin of the call without advising any of the parties involved in the communications.
This means that all VoIP phone service, including toll free providers using VoIP, is subjected to the surveillance provisions under CALEA.
In fact, all telecommunications companies as defined by CALEA must maintain updated system securities plans with the Federal Communications Commission. Internet providers and VOIP service providers were required to submit their initial plan by March 2007 and now must provide updated material as mandated by CALEA.
Virtually all common carriers and telecommunications companies are subject to the regulations under CALEA. This means all telephone communications can be monitored as part of legal, warranted, surveillance by law enforcement agencies. However, fiber optic communications are a possible exception for some wiretapping purposes because detecting transmission through the fiber optic cables is very difficult.
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