Spectre of equipment costs potential concern in proposed lawful access laws

Internet service providers are guarded in their comments regarding a recently released federal paper on access by law officials to online communications. Both the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) and Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP), which represent the majority of Internet providers in Canada, say they are examining the document, especially with an eye to understanding its implications for burdensome new costs. If implemented as is, new lawful access legislation could impose steep equipment costs on ISPs as it forces them to store communications or buy new equipment to allow new forms of digital wire-tapping. The document, released August 25 by the Department of Justice, Industry Canada, and the Solicitor General, outlines several options to legislate access by law enforcement officials comparable to that already provided by telecommunications carriers. Likely to be hotly debated, the document reads: "It is proposed that all service providers (wireless, wireline and Internet) be required to ensure that their systems have the technical capability to provide lawful access to law enforcement and national security agencies… "The central tenet of the proposal is that service providers would be required to have the technical capability to provide access to the entirety of a specific telecommunication transmitted over their facilities, subject to a lawful authority to intercept. This would include the content and the telecommunications-associated specific data associated with that telecommunication." The issue of cost is high on ISPs’ list of questions about potential legislation. In an email to Canadian NEW MEDIA, CAIP president Jay Thomson writes: "We really don’t know yet what is being asked of us with these proposals: what are we expected to do, is it really necessary, how costly will it be, who will bear those costs, and what impact will the proposals have on our customers and, for example, their privacy rights?" The CCTA will only say that it will take time to sort through the issues it raises. A comprehensive consultation process has been set out, with first submissions due from interested parties by November 15. As Thomson notes, the process has been widely expected. Last November, Canada signed the Council of Europe’s Cyber-Crime Convention. Adopting that treaty will require that Canada amend its laws to criminalize certain computer crimes such as creating viruses, as well as develop procedural tools such as giving authorities the right to demand that ISPs preserve and produce evidence, or intercept email. The consultation document sets out the following three scenarios to pay for the additional gear: asking ISPs to implement and pay for new technology immediately; make service providers responsible for the cost of new technologies only coincident with a major upgrade to their systems and networks; or not burden ISPs with the costs of new equipment at all. CAIP doesn’t object to lawful access, however. "CAIP ISP members have a history of cooperating with law enforcement investigations, when proper legal procedures are followed (e.g. when police are subject to warrants), so we’re not opposed in principle to helping out where we can." Though CAIP and CCTA haven’t stated particular objections to the proposals, other industry players affected by new equipment requirements have already registered their opinions. Joel Thorpe, Rogers Wireless Communications Inc.’s director of inter-carrier relations, recently told CNM affiliate publication Report on Wireless that providing lawful access shouldn’t have to be borne by service providers. "It’s certainly not like a telecommunications service that a customer buys and expects to pay for," he said. "This is something that benefits everybody in society. Given that, you would hope that the federal government would not expect either telecommunications customers or carriers to bear all the cost here."

Spectre of equipment costs potential concern in proposed lawful access laws

Broadcast | September 6, 2002

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