WASHINGTON-Assistant FBI Director James Kallstrom accused Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association President Thomas Wheeler of making false and misleading statements to Congress about the agency’s role in implementing the 1994 digital wiretap law, and suggested the wireless industry’s lack of cooperation with law enforcement is commercially motivated.
Kallstrom’s remarks came in a May 2 letter to Wheeler, who wrote Kallstrom April 29 to complain that the FBI was responsible for delays and dissension surrounding the implementation of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.
In a joint filing to Congress, CTIA, the Personal Communications Industry Association, the United States Telephone Association and the Center for Democracy and Technology said the FBI is using the CALEA implementation process to expand its eavesdropping ability well beyond the level contemplated by lawmakers.
“Since CALEA and its prompt implementation are singularly focused upon the need to preserve, in the quickest possible fashion, law enforcement’s electronic surveillance capabilities so as to enable us to fight society’s most serious criminal and national security problems, it is absurd for CTIA to accuse the law enforcement community of attempting to impede or delay the implementation of CALEA,” said Kallstrom.
“One can only surmise that the real reason that some in the telecommunications industry have been so resistant to implementing CALEA is because the CALEA electronic surveillance feature is not revenue generating … One can only wonder whether CTIA has advocated building to a `minimalist’ standard because such a standard will perhaps allow for the use of current non-CALEA compliant equipment or will minimize any investment for new solutions.”
Kallstrom also hinted the cellular industry has been lax in pressing for technical solutions to cloning problems, while passing onto consumers the billion-dollar-a-year cost of fighting fraud.
Kallstrom said he opposes changing the Jan. 1, 1995, cut-off date for reimbursing wireless carriers that make network modifications in compliance with digital wiretap law requirements.
Under CALEA, wireless systems not deployed by that date would be ineligible to recover costs from the government for CALEA system changes.
As a result, none the 2,000-plus personal communications services licensees will be automatically paid back for integrating FBI digital wiretap software and hardware.
“CALEA contains numerous and sufficient mechanisms for carriers to reasonably achieve compliance without being unduly burdened,” said Kallstrom.
“There are a number of justifiable circumstances which might support a carrier’s seeking and obtaining an extension of time, reimbursements, etc.,” he added. “These justifiable circumstances do not include CTIA’s efforts to essentially rewrite CALEA.”
