A new federal law will make it easier for law enforcement to track Internet communications, but the technology needed to meet the law requires an overhaul so expensive, colleges and universities are campaigning to have the it changed.
The Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act has been in place since 1994, but a new order, passed on Oct. 13, requires formerly exempt colleges to overhaul their computer networks and equipment so law enforcement agencies can monitor students' e-mail and other forms of online communication.
"This order is the first critical step to apply CALEA obligations to new technologies and services that are increasingly relied upon by the American public to meet their communications needs," the Federal Communications Commission said in a report on the law.
While security has been a source of concern in the years following Sept. 11, some say the law calls into question the value of privacy and civil liberties in the name of increased national security.
"Monitoring students' online activities seems to be both wrong-minded and counterproductive," said Lorna L. Perez, an adjunct English professor at UB. "If students fall under suspicion because of a perception that terrorists who come to train in the United States do so under student visas, then the issue seems to more appropriately be with the way visas are issued and monitored, not with students' online activity."
"The largest question here seems to be about the government's right to infringe on both privacy and free speech in the name of preventing and fighting terrorism," she added.
Most colleges, however, are not balking at the law in the name of civil liberties. Instead, they are crying foul over the costs.
In order to achieve CALEA compliance it would require significant amount of money, especially when a large quantity of new equipment will be necessary to adapt the networks to government standards, according to Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs. In the end, colleges and research facilities will have spent billions of dollars to purchase new routers, Internet switches and computer accessories in order to upgrade their systems, which could eventually lead to an increase in college tuition.
"As for cost, we have not investigated the (specific) cost but it will be very expensive to implement if the decision stands," Black said.
Most students seem to see the issue from the civil liberties side.
Mark Lekic, a freshmen political science major, said he's not sure whether it is a good idea. Some terrorists may come to America on a student visa, but the law is unnerving because it over-extends governmental powers, he said.
"I understand the need to fight terror but disagree with the methods in this case," Lekic said.
While the act will make it easier for government agencies to tap into college networks and monitor online activity, these agencies will still need to go through the legal procedures allowing them to perform such a wiretap.
"This order only states that facilities-based broadband providers and in-connected VoIP (voice over Internet) providers must accommodate court-ordered wiretaps," said Mark Wigfield, a liaison specialist for the Wireline Competition Bureau, a division of the FCC. "It doesn't change the standard for getting a wiretap from the courts. The commission is still examining whether university networks should be exempt."
Some students questioned whether school money would be better spent in other areas.
"It seems that there is no reasoning behind wasting $7 million of university money for someone's pursuit of freedom," said Hans Samaniego, a junior business and architecture major. "How can you tell students that their college will spend this amount of money on this project, rather than using it to help improve college conditions?"
All the Internet service providers will be given 18 months, until June 2007, to make their systems compatible with government standards.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
