FBI wants built-in Backdoors to Skype,Facebook,etc

[Adrian2040]

senior FBI officials argue the dramatic shift in communication from the telephone system to the Internet has made it far more difficult for agents to wiretap Americans
[...]
The FBI general counsel's office has drafted a proposed law that the bureau claims is the best solution: requiring that social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail alter their code to ensure their products are wiretap-friendly.
[...]
The FBI's proposal would amend a 1994 law, called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, that currently applies only to telecommunications providers, not Web companies.

At first you might think that this would have no chance of passing since the web companies will have to be the ones that pay for the extra development (and we all know how "lazy" some companies are), but it seems the FBI is aware of that and is trying to appease them.

FBI Director Robert Mueller is not asking companies to support the bureau's CALEA expansion, but instead is "asking what can go in it to minimize impacts," one participant in the discussions says. That included a scheduled trip this month to the West Coast -- which was subsequently postponed -- to meet with Internet companies' CEOs and top lawyers.

Source: www.zdnet.com/news/fbi-renews-push-for-ready-made-web-wiretaps/6361782

[Rockman Striker]

I'm not so sure how can this affect average people, I mean, if you haven't done anything bad you have nothing to fear, and I don't live in USA anyway...

[Devillock]

Extensions of the US government which have a higher security clearance than the feds have administrative access accounts to Facebook, meaning if they visit your Facebook profile, they don't need to add you as friends, they can view all your chat logs and activity log. Years ago they would request for warrants, which involved a lot of paperwork, but apparently now when they need intel on certain individuals, Facebook just enables them administrative access.

As for Skype, until Microsoft bought Skype, there were issues as to the government wanting access to Skype's encryption algorithms, but Skype refused. Now that Skype's owned by Microsoft, I don't even doubt that there will be back doors in them.

[Music_Swashbuckler]

Good thing I got rid of Facebook. I know it's only a matter of time till it leads to serious trouble.

[Loken]

Don't people usually do illegal planning and stuff on their own hidden IRC's anyways?

[Deleted]

Things like this make me happy that I don't do anything illegally or hardly use any social networks to contact my family and friends if this were ever come to pass (highly unlikey).

[duck]

I personally don't want government officials looking at what i do on facebook even though I don't have one anymore. I don't do anything illegal anymore but i value my privacy and wouldn't want strangers looking at who i talk to and what i look up. Also, the government could easily abuse this power and accuse innocent people of crimes they didn't commit.