The FBI is asking for an update to the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) which mandated a backdoor for communications gear. This revised version known as CALEA-II is asking for such a backdoor to be extended to all software communications services. I have been meaning to write about why this is a bad idea but Bruce Schneier does such an outstanding job explaining it that I simply recommend you read his post.
The only thing I want to add is that all the evidence at the moment adds up to society devolving into a spy-vs-spy world with government pitted against citizens. I am extremely concerned about this and have written about it before, first in the context of bitcoin, then with regard to enforced real identities and most recently about warrantless wiretapping. At present I am pessimistic that we can stop this spiral and replace it instead with a movement towards transparency. That would a huge loss for all of us.
I am planning to write more about this. In preparation I will read “The Transparent Society” by David Brin – a book written in 1999 tackling these issues and which comes highly recommended by my partner Brad.
