Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: johnl@ima.isc.com (John R. Levine) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Do you need a court order to trace a phone? Message-ID: Date: 18 Mar 89 18:05:09 GMT Sender: news@vector.UUCP Organization: Segue Software, Inc. Lines: 25 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 97, message 4 of 4 In article you write: >The law says that if the person whose phone is being traced >gives permission for the line to be traced, a court order >is not necessary. > >From this argument, automatic calling party identification >is completely legal. ... Don't you have it backward? The calling party is giving permission, not the callee. Caller ID is requested by the callee, not the other way around. I have to second Bob Frankston's concerns about privacy issues, and to wish a thousand junk phone calls from stock brokers, mail-order places, and pizza delivery outfits upon anyone who thinks that caller ID blocking is only for crooks. Per call ID blocking is technically simple and provides reasonable safeguards, and, of course, you've always been able to hang up on callers who won't identify themselves. Some people have suggested that facilities to call back whoever just called you, and to ask the telco to record the number of the last (presumably annoying) caller would be helpful. I believe that in the Orlando trials both of these were already available. Regards, John Levine, johnl@ima.isc.com