Wiretaps Could Raise Costs of Web Access

July 28 2005 by The Systemic Analyst.

Internet users will face higher charges if police get okay to track terrorist e-mailsBy Paul WeinbergThe Globe and Mail 

Consumers and businesses can expect to pay more for Internet access if police are given the technical means to wiretap people’s e-mail and instant-message communications.

That’s the warning from Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor and Internet specialist, as law enforcement authorities make renewed calls for greater surveillance capabilities in the wake of the London terrorist bombings.Mr. Geist says that plans being drawn up by the Canadian government to make it easier for authorities to tap modern communications networks — intercepting messages from desktops, laptops, VoIP phones (voice over Internet protocol ) and BlackBerry-like devices — could be costly. 

” Either you see changes in the overall service structure, such that ISPs [Internet service providers] are able to charge more for certain services to find a way to cost-in these additional compliance costs, or you see a clear jump in the cost of ISP services to cover the cost of compliance,” he says.

Through Bill C-13, an amendment to the Criminal Code that went into effect in September, 2004, Canadian police can get a warrant to force an ISP to provide electronic records of e-mail or instant messages involving one or more people under criminal investigation. But what Ottawa formally calls “lawful access” is only the first step.

A Department of Justice document points out that telecommunication companies and ISPs currently aren’t required to have message-interception capabilities. “When a new technology or communication service is introduced, law enforcement and national security agencies often have to research and develop new methods to gain lawful access to those networks.”

Canadian police are frustrated that while they have the technical means to directly intercept a suspect’s telephone conversations, they have no standardized way of doing the same with things like e-mail, says Superintendent Thomas Grue of the Edmonton Police Service, a spokesman for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

” What we are asking for is to have the obligation imposed on the telcos and the ISPs to have a solution built into their technology from the get-go,” he says.In February, at a private briefing in Ottawa, officials from Public Safety and Emergency Planning Canada and other federal departments met to discuss the latest proposals for network surveillance standards that have been in the works since October, 2000. If the proposals become law, telecom, cable and wireless companies, as well as ISPs, would be expected to adopt them, but the Canadian government has yet to make the proposals public or set a date for introducing lawful access standards legislation in Parliament. 

” I can’t provide an exact time, but I can say that lawful access is a priority of the government of Canada, and legislation will be tabled at the earliest opportunity,” says Amy Jarrette, spokeswoman for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. “This initiative is a key component in support of the government’s public safety agenda, national security policy and anti-terrorism plan, as well as Speech from the Throne commitments to combat child pornography and hate crimes.”

” It’s a difficult issue for the government, with the needs of privacy advocates, law enforcement and the industry at large to balance,” says Alicia Wanless, an analyst with Montreal-based telecom specialist SeaBoard Group.

The technological changes involved are a major consideration, because the upgrades could cost millions of dollars. There are companies that offer workable technology, Ms. Wanless says, but equipment would have to be approved by the government, purchased and integrated into networks across the country.

Wary of a big bill, the telecom industry has offered a counterproposal that has been “positively” received by the government, says Parke Davis, senior regulatory adviser for Telus and a former Industry Canada telecom policy expert. He declined to discuss the details, stating the two parties wished to keep them confidential, but added that the communications industry favours waiting for the U.S. government to develop its own prescription for network wiretaps that could then be adopted more cheaply on a continental basis.

” The switches that we have, the systems that we have, are built for a North American market,” he says.

Others have proposed a global approach to surveillance on modern networks that would adopt frameworks developed by groups such as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. Canada has signed the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime, which promotes co-operation on international investigations.

Michael Binder, Industry Canada’s assistant deputy minister for spectrum information technologies and telecommunications, says his department is working to “broker” what Mr. Binder calls “the legitimate concerns of the industry and the legitimate requirements of law enforcement agencies.” The benefit of waiting for the Americans to develop standards and “piggy-backing,” he said, is that Washington has traditionally compensated domestic equipment manufacturers when changes are made to permit surveillance.

Even with U.S. development subsidies, upgrading networks to meet wiretapping requirements would still involve costs for the carriers, which would likely be passed to consumers. The University of Ottawa’s Mr. Geist says the impact of a small increase in Internet access prices would likely be insignificant, but a substantial one could cause some users to give up home broadband access or downgrade it to slower, cheaper service.

That could have fallout for e-commerce and fledgling media-delivery businesses that rely on widespread broadband use, warns Albert Daoust, director of special projects at Toronto based Evans Research Inc. Increased surcharges on Internet usage would represent “a serious threat” to business in Canada, he says, because the Internet’s main value is as a vehicle to reach a vast number of customers.

Seabord’s Ms. Wanless is doubtful the entire upgrade cost would be passed directly to telcos for precisely this reason, adding that government subsidies are a possibility.

” I don’t think anyone is expecting the industry to pick up the whole tab,” Ms. Wanless says. “Nobody wants to hurt a business in getting information for law enforcement agencies, but who pays what is the issue that still has to be worked out.

” Between everyone involved, we should soon reach some sort of consensus.”

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