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INTERNET PRIVACY: A man works on his computer at the New York Public Library on July 20, 2009. Internet privacy advocacy groups have criticized the US federal government's plans to expand wiretap use for internet communications. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Internet privacy advocacy groups sharply criticized reports that the federal government is going to make it easier to eavesdrop into e-mail and other forms of Internet communications.
Officials in the US say that they need enhanced abilities to tap into encrypted conversations regarding public safety, terrorism, and crimes, according to a New York Times report on Monday.
The Times report says that officials working with the Obama Administration are submitting a bill to Congress next year that would allow for all devices to be "technically capable" of being wiretapped if necessary.
Facebook, Skype, and other online systems would be affected by the mandate, as well as devices like the iPhone and the BlackBerry.
However, critics like Seth Schoen of the Electronic Freedom Frontier (EFF) said that the US government has periodically attempted to put a backdoor into Internet communications in the past and was repeatedly rejected.
"Now the government is again proposing to do so, following in the footsteps of regimes like the United Arab Emirates that have recently said some privacy tools are too secure and must be kept out of civilian hands," Schoen said.
He added that the plan is a "recipe for disaster" as it weakens security overall by including backdoors. As a result, unlawful spying by governments and criminals will be more commonplace.
"It takes a page from the world's most repressive regimes' Internet-control playbook," his statement read. "This is exactly the wrong message for the U.S. government to be sending to the rest of the world."
Throughout the 1990s, Schoen said the EFF and other groups fought the US government's attempts to place backdoors on encrypted systems.
Law enforcement officials claim that the mandate is needed to keep investigative powers relevant in an increasingly electronic world.
