People unclear on the Internet

VoIP: It’s not so easy to listen in talks about how it is difficult to wiretap net phone calls.

The two providers are prime examples of a problem the Federal Communications Commission now faces after voting Thursday to investigate whether Internet phone providers should rewire their networks to government specifications to provide police with guaranteed access for wiretaps.

This quote comes from the author of the article, but probably sums up a real sentiment at the FCC. The problem with this is that the Net is not like the landline phone network. While the FCC can attempt to mandate that companies like Vonage must provide wiretap access, criminals will remain free to use other encrypted voice transmission programs. As long as packets can be routed around the Net, individual people will be able to write software that does things in an unregulated and hard-to-stop manner.

So, they can go ahead and slap on their regulations… they just need to be aware that these are regulations that criminals will be able to sidestep easily.