People talk about wiretapping and government surveillance like that shit is brand-spanking new, but it’s been in full force since before most people ever got onto the internet in the first place!

The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) is a United States wiretapping law passed in 1994 (Pub. L. No. 103-414, 108 Stat. 4279). In its own words, the purpose of CALEA is:

To amend title 18, United States Code, to make clear a telecommunications carrier’s duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for Law Enforcement purposes, and for other purposes.

CALEA was intended to preserve the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct electronic surveillance by requiring that telecommunications carriers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment modify and design their equipment, facilities, and services to ensure that they have the necessary surveillance capabilities. Common carriers, facilities-based broadband Internet access providers, and providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service – all three types of entities are defined to be “telecommunications carriers” for purposes of CALEA section 102. The driving force in adopting CALEA was the FBI’s worry that increasing use of digital telephone exchange switches would make tapping phones at the phone company’s central office harder and slower to execute, or in some cases impossible.

This is so fucking wonky. Why should everyone hand over all of their data to the government (and not to mention corporations) without any value exchanged in return? Ordinarily, when people undertake transactions, both sides are rewarded. It’s pretty much the definition of exchange… If I’m going to be surveilled, I demand to be paid for the data which is derived from me, and I demand to know exactly how and who is using it for what.