ISP Associations Launch Carnivore Hotline

Three ISP organizations will work together to distribute legal advice and other information.

by Roy Mark of dc.internet.com [November 9, 2000]

Two Internet service provider trade associations and an Internet business group are launching the Carnivore Hotline, an information resource to help information service providers (ISPs) understand the legal issues raised by federal government requests to engage in electronic surveillance.

Sponsors of the program are the Commercial Internet exchange (CIX) and Internet Service Providers' Consortium (ISP/C), representing ISPs, and the ISP Business Forum, an organization of online business and infrastructure vendors. The three sponsors will link to each other and to other related sites providing information on electronic surveillance and privacy rights.

Legal advice
Callers to the number (202-216-1999) will be referred to independent, experienced legal counsel familiar with electronic surveillance and law enforcement issues. In addition, the three sponsors will create a corresponding information resource on their Web sites, which will provide relevant historical and legal resources, articles, legal memoranda, and latest news, as well as background information on the attorneys participating in the program. "More and more ISPs are receiving requests from federal agencies to collect electronic information about certain customers," said Barbara Dooley, president of CIX. "We understand that federal agencies have rights in situations warranting surveillance; however, ISPs need to understand their rights and the rights of their customers. As our recent White Paper on the legal standards for government surveillance revealed, when faced with outside electronic surveillance, this understanding is absolutely critical to ISPs' ability to protect the integrity of their networks and the privacy of their subscribers."

Added William Sommers, the president of ISP/C, "The problem is an especially serious one for small to medium-sized service providers who want to fully cooperate with law enforcement, but may lack the adequate legal resources or experience in dealing with court orders. This hotline will be a lifeline to these providers who, unlike larger ISPs, do not have the luxury of in-house legal staff."

CIX is a non-profit trade association of public data internetworking service providers which promotes and encourages the development of the industry in both national and international markets. Founded in 1991, CIX is the largest and oldest trade association of ISPs and Internet-related business in the United States. It provides a neutral forum for the exchange of ideas and information and develops positions on legislation and policy issues among suppliers of internetworking services.

In September, CIX and ISP/C announced their intention to merge. ISP/C was established in 1996 to provide services to startups, small and medium-sized ISPs and represents the needs of small and growing businesses.

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