Dispute over costs holds up plan to reintroduce Internet policing legislation

It appears that "lawful access" is in the news again, at least with respect to the debate over who is to pay for forcing telcos to build intercept capabilities into their systems:

Dispute over costs holds up plan to reintroduce Internet policing legislation

The Harper government's plans to reintroduce legislation that would make it easier for law-enforcement agencies to monitor Internet and wireless communications have been held up by a dispute with industry over who should cover the costs, according to documents obtained by Canwest News Service.

The former Liberal government introduced a law, called the Modernization of Investigative Techniques Act, that would have compelled telecommunications service providers such as Bell Canada and Rogers Communications to disclose personal subscriber information to authorities upon request. The Conservative government has been working on a new version of the law, which was introduced just days before the Liberal government fell in November 2005.

Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service can already seek the authority to wiretap private communications through the Criminal Code, CSIS Act and other laws. But the laws were written before the emergence of the Internet, mobile phones and handheld computers, and in many cases the industry hasn't developed the technology to intercept such communications.

The "lawful access" law, as it is better known, would have effectively forced companies to build intercept capabilities into their networks....