From: ckd@eff.org (Christopher Davis)
Subject: Re: FBI digital telephony bill?  (Tapping BBSes)
Organization: Electronic Frontier Foundation Tech Central
	<1992Sep28.032900.3929@eff.org> <Bv9zq9.8wx@ibmpcug.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 01:55:14 GMT

GN> == Graham Toal <gtoal@ibmpcug.co.uk> 

 GN> Yes, but which bill?  I hadn't heard anything before this about the
 GN> FBI digital telephone-tapping bill applying to bulletin boards.
 GN> This sounds like they want the same tapping rights to be
 GN> implemented by computer service providers that they're after from
 GN> digital telephone echanges.  I'm trying to find out of there's
 GN> *another* bill here that hasn't been publicised or if the person I
 GN> was quoting was merely giving garbled details of the FBI
 GN> telephone-tapping bill.

Taken from ftp.eff.org:/pub/EFF/legislation/new-fbi-wiretap-bill
[all emphasis mine]
[...]
SEC. 2. 
      (a)  Providers of *electronic communication services* and private 
branch exchange operators shall provide within the United States 
capability and capacity for the government to intercept wire and 
electronic communications when authorized by law:  
[...]
     (f)  *Any person who willfully violates any provision of subsection 
(a) of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 per 
day for each day in violation.*  The Attorney General may file a civil 
action in the appropriate United States District Court to collect, and 
the United States District Courts shall have jurisdiction to impose, 
such fines.
     (g)  Definitions--As used in subsections (a) through (f) of this 
section--
     (1)  'provider of electronic communication service' or 'private 
branch exchange operator' means any service or operator which provides 
to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic 
communication, as those terms are defined in subsections 2510(1) and 
2510(12) of Title 18, United States code, respectively, but does not 
include the government of the United States or any agency thereof;
     (2)  'communication' means any wire or electronic communication, 
as defined in subsections 2510(1) and 2510(12), of Title 18, United 
States Code;
     (3)  'intercept' shall have the same meaning as set forth in 
section 2510(4) of Title 18, United States Code;  and
     (4)  'government' means the Government of the United States and 
any agency or instrumentality thereof, any state or political 
subdivision thereof, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, 
territory or possession of the United States.      
[...]

I believe the relevant sections of 2510(12) are actually part of the
ECPA, available as ftp.eff.org:/pub/EFF/legislation/ecpa-1986:

[...]
                    "(12)'electronic communication' means
                        any transfer of signs,signals,
                        writing, images, sounds, data, or
                        intelligence of any nature
                        transmitted in whole or in part by
                        a wire, radio, electromagnetic,
                        photoelectronic or photooptical
                        system that affects interstate or
                        foreign commerce, but does not
                        include---
                            "(A)the radio portion of a
                      cordless telephone communication that
                      is transmitted between the cordless
                      telephone handset and the base unit;
                            "(B)any wire or oral
                      communication;
                            "(C)any communication made
                      through a tone-only paging device;
                      or
                            "(D)any communication from a
18 USC 3117.          tracking device (as defined in
                      section 3117 of this title);
[...]

This means your Ethernet, if you're connected to the Internet.  This
arguably means your Ethernet if you have any dial-in lines to any device
on it (do you really want to trust that they'll decide that it won't?).
--
Christopher K. Davis      |       NET.INSIGHTS INTO ARTISTIC CRITICISM:
<ckd@eff.org>   EFF #14   | ``[Y]ou don't cure bad art by locking it all up
System Administrator, EFF | in one museum, you cure it by throwing tomatoes
+1 617 864 0665  [CKD1]   | at bad artists.'' --Barry Shein <bzs@world.std.com>