The federal government wants to easily monitor all of your electronic transmissions and it wants the University to foot the bill. Recently, the Federal Communications Commission decided to expand the power of law enforcement agencies to monitor communications of suspected criminals. This mandate will force colleges and universities to make significant, and costly, changes to their computer networks. These new requirements are unnecessary and far too expensive, and the FCC should exempt institutes of higher education from these new blanket requirements.
The Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act requires that campuses reroute all of their Internet traffic through a central point in order to provide easy access to data should a law enforcement agency ask for an electronic wiretap. For colleges and universities, this is the mother of unfunded mandates. A conservative estimate, provided by the American Council on Education, puts the cost for all of the country’s campuses at nearly $7 billion. These costs would result in an average tuition increase of at least $450.
The difficulty for campuses arises from widespread access to the Internet. Today, computers can connect through network jacks or wireless networks, meaning that users are no longer tethered to their room or office connections. This makes tracking individual usage more difficult, but certainly not impossible. The CALEA requirements simply make it far easier for law enforcement to have quick access to everyone’s individual usage history. The price tag is clearly staggering, especially for a simple improvement in ease of access. The benefits are several years and millions of dollars away.
According to the New York Times, in 2003 only 12 electronic wiretap orders were issued in the United States. Out of those 12, there were no complaints by the FBI or other agencies that the data was too difficult to obtain. While the CALEA would make electronic wiretaps much easier for law enforcement, there is currently no demonstrable need for such sweeping changes.
Georgetown, a member of the American Council on Education, has joined 1,800 other colleges and universities in requesting an exemption from the CALEA requirements. Currently, campuses will have until May 2007 to implement the new technology. It is impractical, if not impossible, for all institutions of higher education to comply with these new directives in 18 months.
It is understood that from time to time law enforcement agencies will need to obtain electronic wiretaps. However, given the relatively small number requested each year, this solution seems far too sweeping and far too expensive. The FCC needs to rethink its demands and stop making higher education pay for its whims.
