A law enforcement agency subpoenas the ACME telecommunications company for access to text message records of a person suspected of planning a terrorist attack. The company had previously encrypted its text message records so that only the suspect could access this data.
What law did ACME violate by designing the service to prevent access to the information by a law enforcement agency?
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) requires telecommunications carriers to design their systems in such a way that they can comply with lawful intercept requests from law enforcement agencies. By encrypting text message records in a way that only the suspect could access the data, ACME telecommunications company would be violating CALEA as it prevents law enforcement from accessing the communications even when they have a subpoena.
In its own words, the purpose of CALEA is: To amend title 18, United States Code, to make clear a telecommunications carrier's duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for Law Enforcement purposes, and for other purposes.
D.CALEA The U.S. Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA), sometimes referred to as the “Digital Telephony Bill,” lays out the duties of defined actors in the telecommunications industry to cooperate in the interception of communications for law enforcement and other needs relating to the security and safety of the public It notably requires “telecommunications carriers” to design their products and services to ensure that they can carry out a lawful order to provide government access to communications
CALEA applies to telecommunications carriers, but not to other “information services.” As enacted, therefore, the law was interpreted not to apply to internet services. In 2004, however, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) petitioned to EXPAND THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SCOPE OF THE LEGISLATION. In 2005, the FCC issued an order that providers of broadband internet access and voiceover-internet protocol (VoIP) services were telecommunications services when they interconnect with traditional telephone services, and so they now operate under CALEA requirements