A group of Internet pioneers, including Vint Cerf, has authored a paper critical of the FCC CALEA requirement for VoIP.  After outlining the considerable technical difficulties involved in implementing the FCC requirement, they also commented:
Voice over IP is the immediate target of the FBI’s CALEA efforts. The Internet architecture is rich and flexible, and VoIP is not the only real-time communication in which Internet users indulge. Current real-time applications include Instant Messaging, massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) — even music “jamming†sessions. IM and MMORPGs represent huge markets. These communication types fall under the wiretap laws, even if neither the FBI nor the FCC has currently sought to include them in the CALEA requirements.
Speaking to PC World, later, Sun Security Chief Whitfield Diffie said, “These things do not respect borders. It’s very hard to see how something of this kind can be done both effectively and securely.”
Worth a read.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
