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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued the following statement today after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted technical requirements for wireline, cellular and personal communications services telecommunications carriers to comply with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (CALEA):

Attorney General Janet Reno said, "The FCC has carefully addressed the needs of law enforcement to combat terrorism, organized crime and illegal drug activity while ensuring important privacy protections. The continuing technological changes in the nation's telecommunications systems present increasing challenges to law enforcement. This ruling will enable law enforcement to keep pace with these changes and ensure we will be able to maintain our capability to conduct court-authorized electronic surveillance. The FCC's careful, deliberative process concerning this matter is yet another example that CALEA is working as Congress intended."

FBI Director Louis J. Freeh said, "Today's announcement by the FCC regarding CALEA is an extremely important and positive public safety ruling. From the FBI's perspective, the FCC's announced ruling goes a long way to balance public safety, privacy and the needs of telecommunications carriers to remain competitive in today's market."

The Department on behalf of federal, state and local law enforcement raised concerns with the FCC that the preliminary industry standard would not meet important evidentiary requirements critical to carrying out court-authorized electronic surveillance. Based on today's announcement, the FCC has addressed law enforcement's major concerns.

CALEA was enacted by Congress in October 1994 to clarify and further define telephone companies' existing statutory obligations to assist law enforcement in executing electronic surveillance court orders. CALEA also seeks to ensure that after law enforcement obtains the appropriate legal authority, telecommunications carriers will have the necessary technical capability to fulfill their statutory obligations to assist law enforcement.

On March 27, 1998, the Department of Justice and the FBI filed a petition with the FCC arguing that the industry's interim technical standard was deficient since it failed to include certain capabilities determined by the Department to be necessary to meet certain evidentiary requirements.

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