Judge Calls Bushie Justice Department Wiretap Demands "Gobbledygook"

Heh. Most of the JD's requests are nonsense and only seem designed to make Orwell's 1984 Big Brother seem short-sighted and not paranoid enough.

Also from the Financial Times:

A Bush administration regulation that would force internet companies to make it easier for the government to wiretap broadband services and phone calls over the internet was criticised by an appeals court judge on Friday, who characterised the government’s argument as “gobbledygook”.

At the centre of a case brought before an appeals court in Washington is a 2005 ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that gives providers of internet phone and broadband services until May 2007 to ensure that their equipment can accommodate police wiretaps. The rule in effect extended to internet companies a 1994 law that had applied only to traditional telephone networks.

Although opponents of the FCC rule say they are not challenging the government’s right to wiretap – only the right of the government to force companies to adopt technology that would make it easier to eavesdrop – the case brings back to the forefront questions about the administration’s use of wiretapping and its reliance on US companies to listen in on phone calls.

The Justice Department has been an aggressive proponent of the rule, claiming that without it, internet telephony could “effectively provide a safe haven for criminals and terrorists who make use of new communications services”.

But a host of civil liberties and university groups challenging the mandate claim that the provision will give law enforcement officials unprecedented access to private networks and force colleges around the country to replace a portion of their networks, at a cost of $7bn.

They also charge that the FCC has gone far beyond the parameters of the 1994 law passed by Congress, known as “Calea”, which was explicit in not applying to the internet.