EDUCAUSE Coalition Files FCC Comments on Extending Wiretap Law to Internet Providers

Washington, D.C.

EDUCAUSE, along with 15 other education and library organizations (the “EDUCAUSE Coalition”), has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the recently proposed rulemaking regarding the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). While supporting the need for law enforcement to have access to communications under proper legal conditions, the Coalition rejects the FCC attempt to extend CALEA to include broadband Internet access and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

The Coalition’s comments argue two basic points:

• the CALEA statute as currently written does not apply to broadband Internet access or to information services, and that only Congress has the power to rewrite CALEA; and
• if CALEA is extended to include broadband Internet access and VoIP, then Coalition members need to be clearly and specifically exempted from this obligation.

“The higher education community is sympathetic to law enforcement's need to access Internet communications,” said Wendy Wigen, an EDUCAUSE policy analyst. “However, we feel it is clear that Congress never intended CALEA to extend to the Internet and that the negative impact on the education and library community would far outweigh any benefit that law enforcement would gain by including them in this ruling.”

Members of the EDUCAUSE Coalition include the American Association of Community Colleges; the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; the American Council on Education; the American Library Association; the Association of American Universities; the Association of College and Research Libraries; the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education; the Association of Research Libraries; the Consortium for School Networking; EDUCAUSE; the International Society for Technology in Education; Internet2; the National Association of College and University Business Officers; the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges; and the University of California Office of the President.

The Coalition’s complete comments filed with the FCC [PDF* 146 KB] are available at www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EPO0420.pdf.

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About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.