The US Department of Justice has hit out at the growth of voice over IP (VoIP) communications services because they make surveillance and wiretapping difficult. Not being able to listen in so easily could foster “drug trafficking, organised crime and terrorism.”

Needless to say, the Senate Commerce Committee didn't like the sound of that at all, suggesting that it was too early to impose such regulations on an industry that's hardly off the ground yet.

Parsky said at a hearing on Wednesday "If legal loopholes allow criminals to use new technologies to avoid law enforcement detection, they would use these technologies to coordinate terrorist attacks, to sell drugs throughout the United States and to pass along national security secrets to our enemies."

What interests me is that society has now shifted to a position where a government agency is now openly demanding wiretapping facilities as a right, rather than a privilege.

Senator John Sununu is sponsoring a bill through congress where VoIP providers would honour government wiretap requirements, but would not have to build in special provisions in their services. The VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act also bans state government from taxing voice over IP services, but requires that the FCC places a levy on internet phone calls. The money raised will then go towards providing better phone services to low-income American households.

The VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act

On this day, years gone by ...

• Google Lords It Over The Mobile Search Sector - 2008
• British Music Rights Survey On Teenage Kicks - 2008
• YouTube To Launch European Service? - 2007
• Search Engines Disagree On Top Matches - 2007
• London, King Of The Wi-Fi Cities - 2007
• RealNetworks motherboard deal with Intel - 2003
• Telewest start 1Mb service - 2002