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==Wiretapping in the US==

==Wiretapping in the US==

As a general rule, wiretapping is illegal under the [[Fourth Amendment]] unless it is authorized by a warrant.  A [[law enforcement]] agency must convince a [[judge]] or magistrate that there is [[probable cause]] to justify the warrant.  In 1994, the [[Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act]] (CALEA), established distinctions between substantive content of conversations and the "[[metadata]]" regarding the persons and phone numbers involved for those communications. CALEA required telephone companies to be able to install more effective wiretaps.  In 2004, federal law enforcement agencies sought to expand CALEA to cover [[Voice over IP]] ([[VoIP]]) communications as well as conventional voice communications.  In August 2005, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) ruled that “[[broadband]]-service providers ([[ISP]])and interconnected VoIP providers fall within CALEA’s scope. Currently, [[instant messaging]], [[web]] boards and site visits are not included in CALEA’s jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voip-news.com/feature/guide-calea-030608/ |title=The Instant Expert Guide to CALEA |publisher=VoIP News}}</ref>

As a general rule, wiretapping is illegal under the [[Fourth Amendment]] unless it is authorized by a warrant.  A [[law enforcement]] agency must convince a [[judge]] or magistrate that there is [[probable cause]] to justify the warrant.  In 1994, the [[Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act]] (CALEA), established distinctions between substantive content of conversations and the "[[metadata]]" regarding the persons and phone numbers involved for those communications. CALEA required telephone companies to be able to install more effective wiretaps.  In 2004, federal law enforcement agencies sought to expand CALEA to cover [[Voice over IP]] ([[VoIP]]) communications as well as conventional voice communications.  In August 2005, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) ruled that “[[broadband]]-[[Internet service provider|service providers]] (ISP) and interconnected VoIP providers fall within CALEA’s scope. Currently, [[instant messaging]], [[web]] boards and site visits are not included in CALEA’s jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voip-news.com/feature/guide-calea-030608/ |title=The Instant Expert Guide to CALEA |publisher=VoIP News}}</ref>

The [[police state|government]], [[NSA|intelligence agencies]], and [[police]] of the [[United States]] daily use wiretapping for the purpose of stopping [[terrorism]] and [[drugs]].  Both some [[liberal]]s and some [[conservative]] [[patriot]]s claim this can sometimes be an invasion of their [[privacy]].  Nevertheless, wiretapping has resulted in multiple arrests of [[War on Drugs|drug dealers]] and [[War on Terror|terrorists]] <ref>http://www.projo.com/news/content/providence_police_arraigned_03-06-10_M5HM8N0_v46.39894a3.html</ref>. It is occasionally asked by the supporters of [[big government]] what those who don't support wiretapping have to hide from the [[federal government]].

The [[police state|government]], [[NSA|intelligence agencies]], and [[police]] of the [[United States]] daily use wiretapping for the purpose of stopping [[terrorism]] and [[drugs]].  Both some [[liberal]]s and some [[conservative]] [[patriot]]s claim this can sometimes be an invasion of their [[privacy]].  Nevertheless, wiretapping has resulted in multiple arrests of [[War on Drugs|drug dealers]] and [[War on Terror|terrorists]] <ref>http://www.projo.com/news/content/providence_police_arraigned_03-06-10_M5HM8N0_v46.39894a3.html</ref>. It is occasionally asked by the supporters of [[big government]] what those who don't support wiretapping have to hide from the [[federal government]].