Rap a Tap
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FROM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1998
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED
IN THE NETLY NEWS
A coalition of privacy, consumer
and Internet users' advocates has sent a letter to key members
of Congress demanding that funding for the Communications
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act be terminated. The act,
which dates back to 1994, was intended to give the FBI input
in the development of the United States' telecommunications
system -- specifically, to build into the system some kind of
wiretapping access for the feds. But the FBI is accused of overstepping its mandate and consistently
failing to publicly articulate the scope of its ambitions.
What it appears to want but won't fess up to is a far broader
mandate to intrude on people's privacy, says the coalition,
which comprises the ACLU, the Electronic Privacy Information
Center, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Computer
Professionals for Computer Responsibility. With the deadline
looming for implementation of a plan they are largely in the
dark about, the coalition wants Congress to pull the plug and
conduct a thorough, open review of the statute.
-- JONATHAN GREGG
WRITE TO
US
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