Worried that terrorists and criminals can communicate without being caught, the FBI wants to tap into online phone calls. As federal regulators on Monday debated how — or whether — to regulate the fast-growing technology of Internet phone service, the FBI and Justice Department sought to ensure that law enforcement has the same ability to eavesdrop as it does on virtually every other form of communication. Exempting Internet telephony from the wiretap provisions of federal law would, ‘‘jeopardise the ability of federal, state and local governments to protect public and national security against domestic and foreign threats,’’ Patrick W. Kelley, the FBI’s deputy general counsel and Justice Department Attorney General John G. Malcolm wrote in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The technology of so-called voice-over-Internet protocol chops calls into digital packets and sends them over the Internet like e-mail only to be reassembled at their destination as speech. The FBI and Justice Department want FCC to classify Internet telephony as a traditional telecommunications service, which would subject it to federal laws requiring carriers ‘‘to develop intercept solutions for lawful electronic surveillance.’’ The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 established a process that allows the FCC to order standards to facilitate wiretapping. Civil liberty experts draw the line at the current effort, saying it gives law enforcement too much control over how computer networks are built. They fear it could also lead to efforts to outlaw powerful data encryption if Internet telephony users begin encrypting calls. ‘‘This represents a great threat to privacy and free speech,’’ said Lee Tien, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. (LAT-WP)
