47 U.S.C. § 1002 — Assistance capability requirements

Page 404 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 1002 (ii) any class or category of tele- communications carriers that the Com- mission exempts by rule after consultation with the Attorney General. (Pub. L. 103–414, title I, § 102, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4279.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 103–414, title I, § 111, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4288, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b), this title [enacting this subchapter and provisions set out below] shall take effect on the date of enact- ment of this Act [Oct. 25, 1994]. ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE CAPABILITY AND SYSTEMS SECURITY AND INTEGRITY REQUIREMENTS.—Sections 103 and 105 of this title [enacting sections 1002 and 1004 of this title] shall take effect on the date that is 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 103–414, title I, § 101, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4279, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting this sub- chapter and provisions set out as a note above] may be cited as the ‘Communications Assistance for Law En- forcement Act’.’’ § 1002. Assistance capability requirements (a) Capability requirements Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section and sections 1007(a) and 1008(b) and (d) of this title, a telecommunications car- rier shall ensure that its equipment, facilities, or services that provide a customer or sub- scriber with the ability to originate, terminate, or direct communications are capable of— (1) expeditiously isolating and enabling the government, pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization, to intercept, to the exclusion of any other communications, all wire and electronic communications carried by the carrier within a service area to or from equipment, facilities, or services of a sub- scriber of such carrier concurrently with their transmission to or from the subscriber’s equip- ment, facility, or service, or at such later time as may be acceptable to the government; (2) expeditiously isolating and enabling the government, pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization, to access call-iden- tifying information that is reasonably avail- able to the carrier— (A) before, during, or immediately after the transmission of a wire or electronic com- munication (or at such later time as may be acceptable to the government); and (B) in a manner that allows it to be associ- ated with the communication to which it pertains, except that, with regard to information ac- quired solely pursuant to the authority for pen registers and trap and trace devices (as defined in section 3127 of title 18), such call-identi- fying information shall not include any infor- mation that may disclose the physical loca- tion of the subscriber (except to the extent that the location may be determined from the telephone number); (3) delivering intercepted communications and call-identifying information to the gov- ernment, pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization, in a format such that they may be transmitted by means of equip- ment, facilities, or services procured by the government to a location other than the prem- ises of the carrier; and (4) facilitating authorized communications interceptions and access to call-identifying in- formation unobtrusively and with a minimum of interference with any subscriber’s tele- communications service and in a manner that protects— (A) the privacy and security of commu- nications and call-identifying information not authorized to be intercepted; and (B) information regarding the govern- ment’s interception of communications and access to call-identifying information. (b) Limitations (1) Design of features and systems configura- tions This subchapter does not authorize any law enforcement agency or officer— (A) to require any specific design of equip- ment, facilities, services, features, or system configurations to be adopted by any provider of a wire or electronic communication serv- ice, any manufacturer of telecommuni- cations equipment, or any provider of tele- communications support services; or (B) to prohibit the adoption of any equip- ment, facility, service, or feature by any provider of a wire or electronic communica- tion service, any manufacturer of tele- communications equipment, or any provider of telecommunications support services. (2) Information services; private networks and interconnection services and facilities The requirements of subsection (a) do not apply to— (A) information services; or (B) equipment, facilities, or services that support the transport or switching of com- munications for private networks or for the sole purpose of interconnecting tele- communications carriers. (3) Encryption A telecommunications carrier shall not be responsible for decrypting, or ensuring the government’s ability to decrypt, any commu- nication encrypted by a subscriber or cus- tomer, unless the encryption was provided by the carrier and the carrier possesses the infor- mation necessary to decrypt the communica- tion. (c) Emergency or exigent circumstances In emergency or exigent circumstances (in- cluding those described in sections 2518(7) or (11)(b) and 3125 of title 18 and section 1805(e) of title 50), a carrier at its discretion may comply with subsection (a)(3) by allowing monitoring at its premises if that is the only means of accom- plishing the interception or access. (d) Mobile service assistance requirements A telecommunications carrier that is a pro- vider of commercial mobile service (as defined in section 332(d) of this title) offering a feature Page 405 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 1003 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘of’’. or service that allows subscribers to redirect, hand off, or assign their wire or electronic com- munications to another service area or another service provider or to utilize facilities in an- other service area or of another service provider shall ensure that, when the carrier that had been providing assistance for the interception of wire or electronic communications or access to call-identifying information pursuant to a court order or lawful authorization no longer has ac- cess to the content of such communications or call-identifying information within the service area in which interception has been occurring as a result of the subscriber’s use of such a feature or service, information is made available to the government (before, during, or immediately after the transfer of such communications) iden- tifying the provider of a wire or electronic com- munication service that has acquired access to the communications. (Pub. L. 103–414, title I, § 103, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4280.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective on the date that is 4 years after Oct. 25, 1994, see section 111(b) of Pub. L. 103–414, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title. § 1003. Notices of capacity requirements (a) Notices of maximum and actual capacity re- quirements (1) In general Not later than 1 year after October 25, 1994, after consulting with State and local law en- forcement agencies, telecommunications car- riers, providers of telecommunications support services, and manufacturers of telecommuni- cations equipment, and after notice and com- ment, the Attorney General shall publish in the Federal Register and provide to appro- priate telecommunications industry associa- tions and standard-setting organizations— (A) notice of the actual number of commu- nication interceptions, pen registers, and trap and trace devices, representing a por- tion of the maximum capacity set forth under subparagraph (B), that the Attorney General estimates that government agencies authorized to conduct electronic surveil- lance may conduct and use simultaneously by the date that is 4 years after October 25, 1994; and (B) notice of the maximum capacity re- quired to accommodate all of the commu- nication interceptions, pen registers, and trap and trace devices that the Attorney General estimates that government agencies authorized to conduct electronic surveil- lance may conduct and use simultaneously after the date that is 4 years after October 25, 1994. (2) Basis of notices The notices issued under paragraph (1)— (A) may be based upon the type of equip- ment, type of service, number of subscribers, type or size or 1 carrier, nature of service area, or any other measure; and (B) shall identify, to the maximum extent practicable, the capacity required at specific geographic locations. (b) Compliance with capacity notices (1) Initial capacity Within 3 years after the publication by the Attorney General of a notice of capacity re- quirements or within 4 years after October 25, 1994, whichever is longer, a telecommuni- cations carrier shall, subject to subsection (e), ensure that its systems are capable of— (A) accommodating simultaneously the number of interceptions, pen registers, and trap and trace devices set forth in the notice under subsection (a)(1)(A); and (B) expanding to the maximum capacity set forth in the notice under subsection (a)(1)(B). (2) Expansion to maximum capacity After the date described in paragraph (1), a telecommunications carrier shall, subject to subsection (e), ensure that it can accommo- date expeditiously any increase in the actual number of communication interceptions, pen registers, and trap and trace devices that au- thorized agencies may seek to conduct and use, up to the maximum capacity requirement set forth in the notice under subsection (a)(1)(B). (c) Notices of increased maximum capacity re- quirements (1) Notice The Attorney General shall periodically pub- lish in the Federal Register, after notice and comment, notice of any necessary increases in the maximum capacity requirement set forth in the notice under subsection (a)(1)(B). (2) Compliance Within 3 years after notice of increased max- imum capacity requirements is published under paragraph (1), or within such longer time period as the Attorney General may specify, a telecommunications carrier shall, subject to subsection (e), ensure that its sys- tems are capable of expanding to the increased maximum capacity set forth in the notice. (d) Carrier statement Within 180 days after the publication by the Attorney General of a notice of capacity re- quirements pursuant to subsection (a) or (c), a telecommunications carrier shall submit to the Attorney General a statement identifying any of its systems or services that do not have the ca- pacity to accommodate simultaneously the number of interceptions, pen registers, and trap and trace devices set forth in the notice under such subsection. (e) Reimbursement required for compliance The Attorney General shall review the state- ments submitted under subsection (d) and may, subject to the availability of appropriations, agree to reimburse a telecommunications car- rier for costs directly associated with modifica- tions to attain such capacity requirement that are determined to be reasonable in accordance with section 1008(e) of this title. Until the Attor-