CALEA Update

Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed an expansion of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to include broadband Internet access and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The original law was enacted in 1994 to preserve law enforcement’s ability to conduct electronic surveillance of telephone networks in the digital environment. There has been some concern since the expansion was proposed that the new requirements would have implications for MOREnet and our members.

Recently, the American Council on Education (ACE) and other agencies petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review this FCC ruling, alleging that the FCC's interpretation of CALEA was unlawful. Specifically, ACE alleged that the FCC ruling erred in holding that providers of broadband Internet access and voice over Internet protocol services are regulable as "telecommunications carriers" under CALEA. On June 9, 2006, the Court ruled against ACE, and upheld the FCC ruling on these issues.

The Court declined to address ACE's argument that a proposed FCC rule would unlawfully extend CALEA regulation to "private networks". The current interpretation of the FCC ruling on this issue is that a college or university is exempt from CALEA if its network meets the statutory definition of a "private network", and it does not "support" the connection of the private network to the Internet. A petition for rehearing has been filed with the court, and is still pending.

MOREnet is currently working closely with our legal counsel to better understand the facts surrounding this information and what the implications will be for MOREnet and our members. In the coming weeks, we will continue to update you as more information becomes available, and we will be creating a public web page to provide information and resources for members. Some other good sources of information are the EDUCAUSE web site at http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=698 and an FBI CALEA resource page at www.askcalea.net.

As always, MOREnet strives to provide up-to-date information to members about important issues, but our information is not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult your organization’s legal counsel with any questions relating to compliance with this or any other laws.

For questions or comments concerning this announcement, please reply to: Communications at communications@more.net.