IP: Easy Listening (for Big Brother)

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 18:06:48 -0600
>To: Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>
>From: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>
>Subject: Easy Listening (for Big Brother)
>
>EDITORIAL: The opinion of the Mercury News
>
>EASY LISTENING: Government must rewrite cell phone eavesdropping rules to 
>provide judicial oversight and incorporate privacy concerns
>
>SIX years ago, Congress approved a bill to help law enforcement keep pace 
>with the digital world. The purpose was straightforward: Make sure that 
>the FBI and police hold onto the same kind of wiretapping capabilities 
>they had before cellular phones complicated electronic surveillance.
>
>Skip ahead to this month.
>
>Within weeks, the government will have new powers to eavesdrop on you that 
>go beyond maintaining the status quo. That's when the first set of 
>defective rules crafted by the Federal Communications Commission is 
>scheduled to be implemented. Others take effect next year.
>
>The rules need to be revised. If not, law enforcement agencies will be 
>able to follow and monitor cellular phone users in ways that Congress 
>never envisioned. Here's one example: Investigators will be able to track 
>the physical locations of cellular phone users, pinpointing your 
>whereabouts at the beginning and end of every call. In essence, wireless 
>phone systems will be transformed into giant tracking networks....
>
>http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/opinion/edit/CELLPHONES.htm
>