If we needed any more evidence that the Federal Communications Commission believes it can rule the Internet by administrative decree, consider the growing backlash against its wiretapping regulations.

An FCC edict from September orders broadband providers and some Internet phone companies to rewire their networks for police wiretapping convenience. In the bizarro world of federal bureaucracies, of course, it doesn't matter how much complying with this order will cost, whether it's technically feasible, or even whether the requirements are legal or not.

But in the real world, engineers and managers who actually build networks have to worry about those questions. That's why the FCC's pronunciamento worries everyone from Internet providers to universities--and now, even local governments.

posted by Xeni Jardin at 09:21:12 AM permalink | Other blogs' comments