Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) is a United States wiretapping law passed in 1994, during the presidency of Bill Clinton (Pub. L. No. 103-414, 108 Stat. 4279, codified at 47 USC 1001-1010). In its own words, the purpose of CALEA is:

To amend title 18, United States Code, to make clear a telecommunications carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for Law Enforcement purposes, and for other purposes.

CALEA's purpose is to enhance the ability of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance by requiring that telecommunications carriers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment modify and design their equipment, facilities, and services to ensure that they have built-in surveillance capabilities, allowing federal agencies to monitor all telephone, broadband internet, and VoIP traffic in real-time.

The original reason for adopting CALEA was the Federal Bureau of Investigation's worry that increasing use of digital telephone exchange switches would make tapping phones at the phone company's central office harder and slower to execute, or in some cases impossible. Since the original requirement to add CALEA-compliant interfaces required phone companies to modify or replace hardware and software in their systems, U.S. Congress included funding for a limited time period to cover such network upgrades. CALEA was passed into law on October 25, 1994 and came into force on January 1, 1995.

In the years since CALEA was passed it has been greatly expanded to include all VoIP and broadband internet traffic. From 2004 to 2007 there was a 62 percent growth in the number of wiretaps performed under CALEA -- and more than 3,000 percent growth in interception of internet data such as email.^[1]

By 2007, the FBI had spent $39 million on its DCSNet system, which collects, stores, indexes, and analyzes communications data.^[1]

Provisions of CALEA

The U.S. Congress passed the CALEA to aid law enforcement in its effort to conduct criminal investigations requiring wiretapping of digital telephone networks. The Act obliges telecommunications companies to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to tap any phone conversations carried out over its networks, as well as making call detail records available. The act stipulates that it must not be possible for a person to detect that his or her conversation is being monitored by the respective government agency.

Common carriers, facilities-based broadband Internet access providers, and providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service – all three types of entities are defined to be “telecommunications carriers” and must meet the requirements of CALEA.

The CALEA Implementation Unit at the FBI has clarified that intercepted information is supposed to be sent to Law Enforcement concurrently with its capture.

On March 10, 2004, the United States Department of Justice, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration filed a "Joint Petition for Expedited Rulemaking" in which they requested certain steps to accelerate CALEA compliance, and to extend the provisions of CALEA to include the ability to perform surveillance of all communications that travel over the Internet -- such as Internet traffic and VoIP.

As a result, the FCC adopted a "First Report and Order" concluding that CALEA applies to facilities-based broadband Internet access providers and providers of interconnected (with the publicly switched telephone network) Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services.

In May 2006, the FCC adopted a "Second Report and Order", which clarified and affirmed the First Order:

• The CALEA compliance deadline remains May 14, 2007.
• Carriers are permitted to meet their CALEA obligations through the services of “Trusted Third Parties (TTP)” -- that is they can hire outside companies, which meet security requirements outlined in CALEA, to perform all of the required functions.
• Carriers are responsible for CALEA development and implementation costs.

Technical implementation

To be CALEA-compliant, USA telecommunications providers must install new hardware and software, as well as modify old equipment so it doesn't interfere with any law enforcement agency's ability to perform real-time surveillance of any telephone or Internet traffic. Most of this equipment and software is purchased from "Trusted Third-Parties," such as Narus (e.g., NarusInsight), Pen-Link (e.g. Pen-Link 8 software, and their LINCOLN systems & software), and other surveillance equipment/software providers.

Lawsuits

Originally CALEA only granted the ability to wiretap digital telephone networks, but in 2004, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) filed a joint petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expand their powers to include the ability to monitor VoIP and broadband internet communications -- so that they could monitor Web traffic as well as phone calls.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed several lawsuits to prevent the FCC from granting these expanded domestic surveillance capabilities. ^[2][3]

The FCC’s First Report and Order, issued in September 2005, ruled that providers of broadband Internet access and interconnected VoIP services are regulable as “telecommunications carriers” under CALEA. That order was affirmed and further clarified by the Second Report and Order, dated May 2006. On May 5, 2006, a group of higher education and library organizations led by the American Council on Education (ACE) challenged that ruling, arguing that the FCC’s interpretation of CALEA was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. However, on June 9, 2006, the D.C. Circuit Court disagreed and summarily denied the petition (American Council on Education vs. FCC, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,^[4] June 9, 2006)

See also

• Carnivore (FBI)
• DCSNET
• ECHELON
• SORM (Russia)
• Hepting v. AT&T
• Lawful interception
• Magic Lantern
• Pen-Link
• Secrecy of correspondence
• Secure communication
• Surveillance
• Telecommunications Intercept and Collection Technology Unit
• Telephone tapping
• Total Information Awareness

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Point, Click ... Eavesdrop: How the FBI Wiretap Net Operates
2. ^ EFF CALEA Archives 1999
3. ^ EFF CALEA Archives 2000
4. ^ Decision 05-1404(pdf)

Further reading

• White Paper on Lawful Interception of IP Networks
• Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994
• FCC CALEA Home page
• FBI CALEA Website
• EFF CALEA page
• Digital Surveillance: The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, Congressional Research Service, June 8, 2007
• RFC 3924 - Cisco Architecture for Lawful Intercept in IP Networks
• Global Lawful Intercept Industry Forum (GLIIF)
• CALEA for Broadband? The Critics Are Unanimous :: Lasar's Letter on the Federal Communications Commission
• Law enforcement groups have been lobbying for years for FCC Internet wiretapping plan :: Lasar's Letter on the Federal Communications Commission
• Cybertelecom: CALEA Information
• OpenCALEA open-source CALEA suite
• Guide to lawful intercept legislation around the world
• CableLabs Cable Broadband Intercept Specification
• CALEA Q&A