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From: die@frog.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: phone taps
Message-ID: <1903@frog.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 31-Oct-87 04:41:00 EST
Article-I.D.: frog.1903
Posted: Sat Oct 31 04:41:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Nov-87 08:51:28 EST
References: <509@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> <151@tower.UUCP> <4280@well.UUCP> <674@uop.UUCP>
Reply-To: die@hydra.UUCP (Dave Emery)
Organization: Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA
Lines: 29
Summary: digital modes now are "electronic communication"

In article <674@uop.UUCP> robert@uop.UUCP (Robert McCaul--The Equalizer) writes:
>
> i thought that it was "legal" for NSA and others to monitor digital
> traffic in the domestic realm...the fun was to digitize conversations
> (like most cellular and fibre optical trunks) and then legally monitor 
> the conversations, being now digital traffic...

	The Electronic Communications Privacy act of 1986 revised the Federal
criminal code to eliminate the distinction that used to exist between voice
and video traffic (illegal to intercept) and digital and other forms of
comm{nications (once not illegal to intercept) by defining them all as
"electronic communications".  The act includes a very broad definition of
what constitutes information as conveyed in an electronic communication and
effectively eliminates all the past loopholes based on nature of information
or format or mode of transmission.

	More controversal, to at least some of us, are its elimination of
much of any distinction between media of transmission; in particular the ECPA
for the first time makes it a serious felony to merely listen to radio
communications on certain frequencies, using certain modulations, or from
certain transmitters.  In fact, though the law will probably never be
enforced in such cases, it is quite possible to technically commit a federal
felony with penalties of 2 years in jail and $250,000 fine by simply casually
tuning around the electromagnetic spectrum with the kind of garden variety
shortwave radio, scanner or satellite dish system found in millions of homes.

          David I. Emery    Charles River Data Systems   617-626-1102
          983 Concord St., Framingham, MA 01701.
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