U.S. Is Working to Ease Wiretaps on the Internet

 

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone.

Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages.

The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because security services around the world face the same problem, it could set an example that is copied globally.

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NSW looks at new law to stop inmates having Facebook profiles

The NSW government has refused to rule out introducing legislation that would ban Facebook profiles being created on behalf of NSW prisoners.

The Corrective Services Minister, Phil Costa, said he would seek to have prisoners' profiles removed from Facebook after revelations on this site that inmates of SuperMax, where the worst criminals are kept, have a presence on the social media website.

Family and friends are believed to manage the profiles, helping inmates to stay in touch with the outside world.

The opposition said the government and prison authorities would be embarrassed by the online profiles and possible security breaches but conceded that laws to police postings would be difficult to put in place.

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