Appeals Court Backs Bush on Wiretaps

This isn't good news. BTW, Judge David Sentelle was a Reagan appointee, Judge Harry Edwards was a Carter appointee and the third (I believe), Judge Karen L Henderson, was appointed by daddy Bush. Funny how they voted, huh?

A federal appeals court sided with the Bush administration Friday on an electronic surveillance issue, making it easier to tap into Internet phone calls and broadband transmissions.

The court ruled 2-1 in favor of the Federal Communications Commission, which says equipment using the new technologies must be able to accommodate police wiretaps under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, known as CALEA.

Judge David Sentelle called the agency's reading of the law a reasonable interpretation. In dissent, Judge Harry Edwards said the FCC gutted an exemption for information services that he said covered the Internet and broadband.

The FCC "apparently forgot to read the words of the statute," Edwards wrote.

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PS. I "borrowed" the headline for my title.