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FBI asks for broad expansion of wiretapping laws
As I predicted, the FBI has asked for new laws to facilitate broad snooping at broadband internet service provider facilities. The first question is what will this mean for end-to-end encryption. The FBI wants to force Vonage, 8×8, AT&T, and other broadband telephone providers to enable easy wiretapping, but what about pure P2P systems like Skype (and even peer-to-peer SIP)? How will they force end-users to provide easy wiretapping of themselves? When will the government outlaw encryption, so that only the outlaws will have encryption?
From FBI adds to wiretap wish list:
If the FBI’s request is enacted, it will be very expensive. And, more importantly, my argument is that it doesn’t really help solve the real problem either. Why aren’t the existing laws enough? What’s wrong with getting a warrant and going to a particular service provider and getting the data they need? In fact, they already have greatly expanded wiretapping powers as part of the USA Patriot Act so they don’t even need court approval in many situations as things are now.
So to me, it looks like a lot of money wasted for no practical benefit. It will have little effect on real criminals since they can just use encryption and they will be the only ones using encryption if encryption is made illegal.
One potential positive side-effect of this kind of regulation is to push more functionality to the edge. If service providers cannot introduce new products to fill needs for users due to bureaucratic governmental red-tape, users will buy edge-devices to fill those needs (as they did for home routers).
Plan for ‘terror market’ scraped before it got off the ground
On Monday, the Pentagon announced a highly controversial plan for a terror futures market (see news story) that immediately drew harsh criticism. Accordind to AP “[Sen. Ron] Wyden said $600,000 has been spent on the program so far and the Pentagon plans to spend an additional $149,000 this year. The Pentagon has requested $3 million for the program for next year and $5 million for the following year.”
The crazy idea involved “setting up a stock-market style system in which investors would bet on terror attacks, assassinations and other events in the Middle East. Defense officials hope to gain intelligence and useful predictions while investors who guessed right would win profits.”
Today, CNN is reporting that the plan has been cancelled, shortly after Tom Daschle denounced the program on the senate floor as “an incentive actually to commit acts of terrorism” and calling the program a “plan to trade in death.”
The whole thing is just surreal.
