From: shabbir@panix.com (Shabbir J. Safdar) Newsgroups: alt.activism,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,alt.motherjones,alt.politics.datahighway,alt.politics.libertarian,alt.politics.org.nsa,alt.privacy,alt.privacy.clipper,alt.security,alt.society.civil-liberties Subject: Wiretap Watch FINAL EDITION (The DT bill has passed) Date: 8 Oct 1994 00:58:05 -0400 Organization: Voters Telecomm Watch (vtw@vtw.org) Reply-To: vtw@vtw.org (Voters Telecomm Watch) The Wiretap Watch Final Issue October 7, 1994 Distribute Widely Recent Quotes: (It's been a busy week, we've answered over 2,000 emails) "I think we should adjourn now [..] the country is safer when we're not in session." -Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) on C-SPAN "Senator Wallop's office, may I help you?" "Yes, I called to register my support for the Senator's concerned position on the bill." "Ok, got it. Thanks" "Have there been a lot of calls today? Dozens? Fifty?" "Hundreds so far today." -A conversation I had earlier today with Sen. Wallop's office "I called Feinstein again and the offical breakfast food is still a waffle." -Another California caller on Feinstein's FBI Wiretap position ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents A look back at the bill What you should do right now Positions of legislators pro and con Status of the bills Brief explanation of the bill ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A LOOK BACK AT THE BILL As you may have already discovered the Senate passed the bill tonight on "unanimous consent". Although I will leave the soothsaying to more eloquent folks, there are a number of things that need to be said and people that need to be thanked. 1. A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH THIS LEGISLATIVE FIGHT During this campaign, we asked people to contact several legislators about the bill. This was a very effective means ofat mobilizing people. When we put out the word that Senator Wallop needed support, hundreds of calls were received the very next day -- their office was stunned. This is the first time many of the sitting legislators learned that constituents were concerned about privacy. We have begun to teach them that this is an important issue. Educating a legislator is an ongoing process that we'll continue to assist with in preparation for the elections. It would be great if legislators begin to consider what effects their actions will have on "the privacy vote." Sincere thanks go out to the literally thousands of people who took the time to call their legislators. The response we received to our alerts was amazing. The mail itself was overwhelming; the letters really kept us going on those late nights. When people wrote to us, saying that they had faxed our press release to a dozen papers and called the same number of legislators, it seemed inconceivable that we should let something as minor as sleep slow us down. Thanks to everyone who contributed by calling and faxing (and sending in corrections). It appears that our technique of providing excellent information with the research done for the reader is a technique people appreciate. We'll continue to refine it in preparation for the next legislative session. 2. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE Much worse versions of the DT bill have been introduced. They were all killed before really getting anywhere. When this version was brought up, the EFF had a difficult decision in front of them: assume the soothsayers were right about it passing this year and try to hack in some privacy provisions, or try and mount a fight against it. Other factors such as organizational direction played a part in this decision I'm sure, but I'm not qualified to talk about that. (I'm about as far from an EFF insider as you can get.) There are several privacy provisions that have been added to the bill. Had the EFF not intervened, they would not be there. PERIOD. I think we owe them a thank you for that. Did they really know what they were doing or was it a lucky guess? Who's to say; we all have 20/20 hindsight. When EFF made this decision, it was months ago. They were like an ace-in-the-hole should the bill pass. 3. THIS IS STILL A PROCESS THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO MONITOR There are several ways in which the powers in the bill could be abused by law enforcement. The bill provides law enforcement with unprecedented assurance that a wiretap will always be available. This will subtly change the way law enforcement does its work. ("When your most ubiqitous tool in a hammer, the world starts to look a lot like nails..") Furthermore the process for creating the wiretap functionality standards truly rests in the hands of the FCC. We have seen from past experience with the CallerID blocking fiasco that the FCC is not the bastion of privacy that we wish it was. In that instance, there was significant public outcry against the proposal, and yet privacy still lost. What's the good news? There are organizations who we can count on to watchdog this process. The EFF wrote most (if not all) of the privacy provisions of the bill. They will be in a great position to monitor the progress of this process and ensure that not just the LETTER of the privacy provisions are followed, but the SPIRIT as well. Furthermore, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is aggressive in their FOIA efforts, which keep our government honest. I sleep better at nights knowing they're keeping an eye out. I would have given my left foot to be in the courtroom this week with EPIC when the FBI's counsel asked for a five year delay on releasing twenty pages of wiretap data, and the judge told the attorney to "..call Director Freeh and tell him I said this matter can be taken care of in an hour and [a] half." Finally, I want to take a moment to thank David Sobel, Marc Rotenberg, & David Banisar of EPIC for all the help they gave us. Not being in DC, its difficult for us to simply "drop by" the office of a swing vote legislator and present our arguments. We're very grateful to them for this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT YOU SHOULD DO RIGHT NOW Nothing for the moment. The Senate passed the Digital Telephony bill (S. 2375) a few minutes before adjournment tonight. The various holds put on it by Republican Senators were removed and the bill passed on "unanimous consent". This means that there was no opposition to it. President Clinton is almost certain to sign it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATUS STATUS SB 2375 It passed on the evening of Oct. 7 on unanimous consent literally minutes before the Congress adjourned. STATUS HR 4922 It passed on the evening of Oct. 5 on a voice vote. Oct 7, 94 The Senate passed S. 2375 on unanimous consent minutes before adjournment. Oct 6, 94 Nothing happened, though a Senate vote was expected. Several Senators have placed holds on the bill. Oct 5, 94 House passes HR 4922 on a voice vote. Oct 4, 94 House is scheduled to vote on HR 4922, along with more than 50 other items on the "suspension calendar". The debate took place tonight; the House vote was put off until Oct 5, '94. Oct 3, 94 Judge Richey instructs the FBI to comply with a FOIA request to make available their wiretap surveys (which they claim justify their bill) by Nov. 1. Sep 29, 94 HR 4922 marked up and reported out of the Hse. Jud. Comm and nearly to the full House Sep 28, 94 SB 2375 amended, marked up, and reported out of the Sen. Jud. Comm. to the full Senate Sep 15, 94 HR 4922 hearing held in the Telecommunications Comm. Aug 18, 94 HR 4922 reported back to committee (write to Rep. Jack Brooks!) Aug 11, 94 Sen. Leahy & Rep. Edwards hold a joint hearing on the bills in Wash. DC at 1pm in Rayburn 2237. Aug 10, 94 HR 4922 referred to Subcomm. on Civil and Constitutional Rights Aug 10, 94 SB 2375 referred to Subcomm. on Technology and the Law Aug 9, 94 Rep. Hyde officially cosponsors HR 4922 Aug 9, 94 HR 4922 referred to House Judiciary Committee Aug 9, 94 SB 2375 referred to Senate Judiciary Committee Aug 9, 94 Identical House and Senate bills are announced by their respective sponsors, Rep. Don Edwards (D-CA) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) EFF states the legislation is "not necessary" and predicts it will pass regardless. For more information about the Digital Telephony bills, check the Voters Telecomm Watch gopher site (gopher.panix.com) or contact Steven Cherry, VTW Press Contact at (718) 596-2851 or stc@vtw.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL POSITIONS OF LEGISLATORS Because the Senate version passed with "unanimous consent", all of the sitting Senators supported it. This means that if someone is a Senator, they supported it. No fancy ASCII tables required. Three representatives we know of opposed the bill in the House: Dist ST Name, Address, and Party Phone Fax ==== == ======================== ============== ============== 4 CA Doolittle, John T. (R) 1-202-225-2511 1-202-225-5444 1 OR Furse, Elizabeth (D) 1-202-225-0855 na 12 NC Watt, Melvin* (D) 1-202-225-1510 1-202-225-1512 Please call them and thank them for their privacy stances. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE BILLS The FBI's Wiretap bills (also known as the DT - Digital Telephony bills) mandate that *all* communications carriers must provide wiretap-ready equipment so that the FBI can more easily implement their court-ordered wiretaps. The costs of re-engineering all communications equipment will be borne by the government, industry and consumers. It does not cover information service providers. The bill is vague and the standards defining "wiretap ready" do not exist. Furthermore, the FBI has yet to make a case which demonstrates that they have been unable to implement a single wiretap. Although we as a society have accepted law enforcement's need to perform wiretaps, it is not reasonable to mandate this functionality as a part of the design. In itself, that would be an important debate. However without any proof that this is indeed a realistic and present problem, it is unacceptable and premature to pass this legislation today. The Voters Telecomm Watch (VTW) does not believe the FBI has made a compelling case to justify that all Americans give up their privacy. Furthermore, the VTW does not believe the case has been made to justify spending 500 million Federal dollars over the next several years to re-engineer equipment to compromise privacy, interfere with telecommunications privacy, and fulfill an unproven government need. There are some privacy protections built into the bill. Their benefit does not outweigh the damage that building wiretaps into all communication does, however. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------