FCC VoIP Wiretapping Laws Complicated and Unclear

11:26 pm on September 27, 2005 | Category: Law, Regulation, VoIP

US federal regulators have decided that VoIP providers have until the spring of 2007 to begin following a new set of complex rules, designed to make it easier for police to listen in on broadband phone and internet telephony conversations.

The 59-page manuscript on the matter, produced by the FCC on Friday evening, makes it clear that any VoIP provider that enables linking with public telephone networks must be technologically ready for wiretapping, on police request. Services that will be affected by the ruling include Vonage, Packet 8, and SkypeOut.

What is not completely clear, however, is how public internet networks, such as those made available by universities, hotels, and cyber-cafes, will be affected by the ruling. These networks are often used for VoIP traffic, but in most cases, do not enable wiretapping.

Although somewhat long winded and complex, the FCC’s announcement seems to be avoiding some of the important issues involved, and there has been some debate about whether the wiretapping of VoIP services is even legal.

The fact that 18 months remain before the deadline will hopefully give them more time to sort out the finer details, but it is quite likely that the complexity of the issue will cause more delays in the future.

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    Published by TeleClick Enterprises
    Edited by Jeremy Maddock