WHAT IS LI & CALEA?

Lawful Intercept - LI
Lawful interception (LI) is the legally sanctioned official access to private communications, such as telephone calls or e-mail messages. In general, LI is a security process in which a network operator or service provider gives law enforcement officials access to the communications of private individuals or organizations. Countries around the world are drafting and enacting laws to regulate lawful interception procedures; standardization groups are creating LI technology specifications. As the number of requirements continues to expand, service providers - including higher education institutions - may find lawful interception processes increasingly complex, costly, and time consuming.

CALEA
CALEA requires providers to engineer their systems to make wiretapping easier and less expensive for the government.

The original act was passed in 1994 in response to a request for help from law enforcement. It requires providers of commercial voice services to engineer their networks in such a way as to assist law enforcement agencies in executing wiretap orders. Higher education institutions were exempt from CALEA compliance under the 1994 act. On August 5, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission, in response to a request by law enforcement, extended CALEA compliance to include facilities-based Internet service providers. Each institution should consult their counsel on the application of CALEA to their network.