| In
an alarming new trend a government agency, Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF), founded in 1986 who's sole responsibility
is to set standards for the Internet, are now considering future
plans to construct the Internet in a manner that would allow
the U.S. government to easily conduct wiretaps of online telephone
services. In plainer terms, they want to install the necessary
equipment to wire tap the next generation of Internet protocols.
Several Agencies have already given this proposal their positive
backing as the the IETF begins gearing up for the opposition
they know this bill will face. The FBI has publicly stated they
are all for Internet wire tapping ( big surprise there huh?)
Barry Smith, supervisory special agent at the the FBI's Digital
Telephony and Encryption policy unit has stated, "We think
it's a wise and prudent move. If court-authorized wiretaps are
frustrated, effective law enforcement is jeopardized, public
safety is jeopardized, and policymakers are going to have to
figure out how to rectify the problem." But Jeff Schiller,
an IETF executive committee member, disagrees. "We should
not be building surveillance technology into standards. Law
enforcement was not supposed to be easy. Where it is easy, it's
called a police state." |
