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IEEE & Expansion of 1994's
Communications Assistance
for Law Enforcement Act
(CALEA)
E-mail & Security Services
Information Technology Department
2 December 2005
Background
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Congress passed the Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act (“CALEA”) in 1994.
The Act requires telephone companies to engineer their
switching systems, generally at their own cost, to provide
access to law enforcement agencies for the enforcement of
court-ordered wiretaps.
Federal Communications Commision (FCC) exercises primary
enforcement jurisdiction under the Act
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Background
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In response to a joint petition by the Department of Justice, the
FBI and the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FCC, recently issued
an order to extend the reach of CALEA to facilities-based
broadband internet access providers and interconnected voice
over Internet protocol (“VoIP”) service providers.
The Order became effective on November 14, 2005. It requires
affected service providers to facilitate lawful requests for
surveillance of specific communications on their networks by
putting in place by the end of an 18-month transition period a
combination of new equipment, trained personnel, policies and
procedures.
IEEE consulted its legal counsel (Dorsey and Whitney) to
understand any implications due to the IEEE Email Aliases
Service.
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Conclusion
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Legal counsel has indicated that the fact that IEEE does not play
the role of an ISP in its operation of the alias e-mail service
suggests that the FCC’s concept of “facilities-based broadband
Internet access provider” would not apply to IEEE.
According to the FCC, an entity qualifies as a telecommunications
carrier under the “Substantial Replacement Provision” if:

the entity must be engaged in providing wire or electronic
communication switching or transmission service

the service provided is a replacement for a substantial portion
of the local telephone exchange service
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the FCC finds that it is in the public interest to deem a person
or entity to be a telecommunications carrier for purposes of
CALEA.
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Conclusion
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In summary, because the second test of the FCC’s “Substantial
Replacement Provision” does not appear to be satisfied, IEEE is
unlikely in our view to be considered a “telecommunications
carrier” under CALEA as a result of its offering of the personal
alias e-mail service.
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