SkypeIn, SkypeOut -- Next, SkypeTap?

Congress enacted the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in 1994 to allow law enforcement the ability to intercept newer forms of digital technology, such as cell phones, and thus keep pace with criminals who use them.

There is no question that traditional phone service, like land lines, comes within the purview of CALEA (Pub. L. No. 103-414, 108 Stat. 4279). The question is does the act apply to a company like Skype, whose product is based on computers and Internet access without the use of a phone?

The purpose of CALEA and the nature of Skype, a software program that allows digital transfer of the human voice through the Internet, renders the law applicable to such software.

With the right software, the human voice can be converted into digital packets of data and sent through the Internet to connected computers. This development has led to the use of such services as: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), T-Mobile's Hotspot at Home service, as well as Skype.

CALEA recognizes that to remain an effective and efficient weapon against crime, terrorism law enforcement must have the capability to intercept, when appropriate and authorized, these newer means of digital communication. Yet the law does not represent a weakening of wiretap requirements, but merely a means to compel public communication providers to make their digital communication systems accessible to law enforcement when necessary to uncover criminal activity.

Over the past decade, with the Internet's explosion into almost everyone's life, more changes are expected on how people communicate, making implementation of CALEA imperative to reach its legislative goal. Thus under the act, phone companies must allow access by law enforcement to phone communications, whether land line or cell. CALEA's standards, therefore, apply to common carriers, facilities-based broadband Internet access providers and VoIP services.

More on the prospects of tapping Skype communications at Law.com