FBI Wants Backdoors to Facebook

If passed, the proposal would amend the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, which was established back in 1994. It currently applies only to telecommunications providers, not Web companies. The Federal Communications Commission extended CALEA in 2004 to apply to broadband networks.

Disclosure documents filed with Congress two weeks ago revealed that Apple, which provides iChat and FaceTime for iOS devices, is currently lobbying on the backdoor topic. Microsoft, which owns both Skype and Hotmail, told CNET that its lobbyists are following the topic because it's "an area of ongoing interest to us." Google, Yahoo, and Facebook would not comment on the topic.

Issue in Washington since 2006

Going Dark has reportedly been an issue in Washington since 2006, and the bureau in the long run hired on 107 full-time workers in 2009 to work on the issue. The FBI has supposedly even sought input from the its secretive Operational Innovation Division in Quantico, Va., a division that claims to be working on the "latest and greatest investigative technologies to catch terrorists and criminals."

In addition to the FBI's move, the Federal Communications Commission is considering reinterpreting CALEA so that products ranging from Skype to Google Hangouts will include backdoors to help solve the "Going Dark" problem. Christopher Canter, lead compliance counsel at the Marashlian and Donahue law firm, said that they have noticed a "massive uptick" in the amount of FCC CALEA inquiries and enforcement proceedings within the last year, most of which are intended to address 'Going Dark' issues.