CALEA Legal Summary
Twenty-four pages, written by communications counsel, on what CALEA and its regulations actually require. The most-cited document Subsentio hosts, and the one to read before a compliance conversation.
CALEA Legal Summary — a summary of the statute and related regulations
Congress enacted CALEA in 1994, requiring telecommunications carriers to assist law enforcement in executing electronic surveillance pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization. Carriers are required to design their systems to allow surveillance to be performed upon launch. Since 2006 the FCC has extended the requirements of CALEA to providers of two-way interconnected VoIP and broadband Internet access service. Common carriers, resellers and CMRS providers are all covered.
According to the FCC, the policy purpose of CALEA is to preserve the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct electronic surveillance by requiring that carriers and equipment manufacturers design and modify their equipment, facilities and services to ensure the necessary surveillance capabilities as network technologies evolve. The summary covers the definition of a telecommunications carrier, broadband and interconnected VoIP coverage, the assistance-capability and system-security requirements, the safe harbor, cost recovery, enforcement, and a closing section on choosing a Trusted Third Party — with the statute reproduced as an appendix.
The parts that matter to a provider.
Who is a telecommunications carrier
CALEA's own definition, its substantial-replacement provision, and the FCC's application of it to broadband and interconnected VoIP.
What compliance requires
The § 103 capabilities, the § 105 security policies, the Part 1 Subpart Z filings, and the safe harbor of § 107.
Choosing a Trusted Third Party
TTPs reduce compliance expense and the need for specialized staff, and reduce liability by ensuring orders are properly implemented; the carrier remains ultimately responsible, and the choice should be made with counsel.
The statute, appended
47 U.S.C. §§ 1001–1010 reproduced in full.
Does this apply to you?
Counsel, compliance officers and executives at any provider that may be a CALEA telecommunications carrier. Dated March 2015 — the statute and the FCC orders it summarizes have not changed; the filing system (CEFS, 2023) has.
CALEA Legal Summary
Hosted in full by Subsentio. Opens in a new tab.
Other primary documents.
CALEA Act of 1994
What CALEA (1994) requires, section by section — definitions, capability, security, safe harbor, enforcement — with the full text to download.
CALEA Broadband Coverage Order (2005)
The 2005 FCC order that extended CALEA to facilities-based broadband and interconnected VoIP providers — what it decided, why, and what it left open.
CALEA Capability Order (2006)
The 2006 FCC order that set the May 14, 2007 deadline, permitted Trusted Third Parties, required SSI filings and monitoring reports, and settled who pays.
ECPA (1986)
What ECPA did: extended the Wiretap Act to electronic communications and created the Pen Register Act and the Stored Communications Act — the tiers of process.
The Wiretap Act (1968)
The 1968 statute behind every Title III order: a general prohibition on intercepting communications, with a court-supervised exception on probable cause.
FISA (1978)
What FISA authorizes — foreign-intelligence surveillance of foreign powers and their agents under the FISA court — and what a FISA order means for a carrier.