In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia found that cable modem providers and other companies are subject to the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, the 1997 law that requires phone companies to put law enforcement backdoors in their switching networks.
This is total bullshit. The deal that was cut in '94 was very clearly that the Internet was not covered by CALEA. The purpose of the deal was to require a political reconsideration of this at a later date. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less."
27B Stroke 6 - CALEA extended to the Internet |