Higher Education Files New Comments on Wiretap Law

Washington, D.C.

The Higher Education Coalition* has filed a further set of Comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to the Commission’s September 23 Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The FCC requested comments regarding the implementation of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).

Due to the ambiguity of the recent CALEA ruling, the Coalition asks the FCC to reconfirm that members of the higher education coalition, who operate private networks, are exempt from CALEA.

The Comments go on to state that CALEA compliance by Coalition members is neither necessary to national security nor otherwise in the public interest because surveillance requests are infrequent, members have a steadfast record of prompt compliance with law enforcement requests, and the costs of compliance would have a serious, detrimental impact.

The Comments also request that if a complete exemption is not awarded, then as a minimum compliance should be restricted to the Internet Connection Facilities (the border routers and/or switches that provide the interface between the Higher Education Network and the public Internet). They also request that any compliance requirements be phased in over a period of five years, not the 18 months currently stated in the Ruling.

In support of law enforcement, the Coalition is prepared to undertake measures to improve the current response time for traditional “non-CALEA compliant” intercept procedures.

“The higher education community is sympathetic to law enforcement's need to access Internet communications,” said Mark Luker, EDUCAUSE vice president. “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 Coalition will review other comments filed in the proceeding, including those from the Department of Justice (DoJ), and will file Reply Comments by December 12. In addition, as they await for the District Court's decision on their Petition for Review, they will continue to discuss possible solutions with the DoJ and the FCC.

The Coalition’s complete Comments filed with the FCC are available in PDF form at http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=EPO0536.

*The Higher Education Coalition is organized under the American Council of Education and includes: the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers; the American Association of Community Colleges; the American Association of State Colleges and Universities; the Association of American Universities; the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education; the Association of Community College Trustees; the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities; EDUCAUSE; the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities; 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.

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.