At first, the Obama internet plan for the nation appeared to be a call for internet connection accessibility befitting a first world nation. However, the White House has something else it wants done online. The Obama administration and law enforcement agencies are working on a new bill, which will further regulate the telecommunications industry. The regulations will consist of higher access for monitoring purposes. The ability of the government to observe communications will greatly expand if the bill becomes regulation. Washington already has access to a broad array of communications for surveillance purposes, and this will expand that access.
Obama Web spying plan
According to the NY Times, the White House wants to pass a bill expanding monitoring and wiretap access for intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The bill builds upon existing jurisdictions. The Obama administration is behind the bill, which is due next year. The bill will mandate that all methods of communication be designed to permit government monitoring. The reason is that some communications, especially those on the Internet, are encrypted and private.
Small firms will miss out
. The recent ban of the Blackberry in several nations was due to Research In Motion having designed the phone so e-mails and texts are encrypted, private communications. RIM is within the process of complying with surveillance requirements of several governments, and companies for instance Skype and other VOIP, or voice over internet protocol, businesses could have to re-engineer their products to regulatory standards. Fewer people are relying on traditional phone communications. Law enforcement and intelligence personnel have warned that the ability to monitor criminals is “going dark” as a result of less accessibility.
Electric ear
There have been many laws passed giving federal the ability to look or listen in. Few methods of communication, except maybe sign language, are exempt. There was a great deal of controversy over the Bush domestic spying program. Obama has not dealt with fears of subversion of civil liberties. You will find legitimate threats to public safety that can be dealt with by this legislation, and the government insists it’s not overstepping its authority by asking for the access. A greater degree of surveillance may seem a good tool for catching criminals in the act, but can very easily be misused.
Articles cited
NY Times
nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html?pagewanted=1
