The new draft is dated July 19 and contains some significant changes over earlier drafts released in March. The first major change over earlier drafts is its expanded scope. This would appear to be far broader than an earlier draft which covered only common carriers. This bill would cover everything from small BBSs that charge fees to large on-line services like AOL and Prodigy. Manufacturers and support service providers must also assist by developing equipment and software with these capabilities.
Providers have four years after enactment to comply.
Under the draft, the Attorney General would also provide carriers with written notice of needed capacity for electronic surveillance. Service providers must ensure that they have the required capability within four years or else face civil fines. Carriers are not obligated to decrypt communications that are encrypted by the subscriber unless the carrier provided the encryption and has the key to decrypt the message. The draft authorizes the Attorney General and other law enforcement agencies to meet with industry associations and standards settings bodies to develop standards for surveillance capabilities. If there is a dispute over standards, or the bodies fail to issue standards, any person can petition the FCC to establish standards.