28 January 1998
Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

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From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 16, 1996]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 16, 1996 and August 28, 1996]
[CITE: 47USC1002]


          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS

       CHAPTER 9--INTERCEPTION OF DIGITAL AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS

Sec. 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 carrier shall ensure that its equipment, facilities,
or services that provide a customer or subscriber 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
    subscriber of such carrier concurrently with their transmission to
    or from the subscriber's equipment, 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-identifying information that is reasonably available to the
    carrier--
            (A) before, during, or immediately after the transmission of
        a wire or electronic communication (or at such later time as may
        be acceptable to the government); and
            (B) in a manner that allows it to be associated with the
        communication to which it pertains,

    except that, with regard to information acquired solely pursuant to
    the authority for pen registers and trap and trace devices (as
    defined in section 3127 of title 18), such call-identifying
    information shall not include any information that may disclose the
    physical location 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 government, pursuant to a court order or other
    lawful authorization, in a format such that they may be transmitted
    by means of equipment, facilities, or services procured by the
    government to a location other than the premises of the carrier; and
        (4) facilitating authorized communications interceptions and
    access to call-identifying information unobtrusively and with a
    minimum of interference with any subscriber's telecommunications
    service and in a manner that protects--
            (A) the privacy and security of communications and call-
        identifying information not authorized to be intercepted; and
            (B) information regarding the government's interception of
        communications and access to call-identifying information.

(b) Limitations

          (1) Design of features and systems configurations

        This chapter does not authorize any law enforcement agency or
    officer--
            (A) to require any specific design of equipment, facilities,
        services, features, or system configurations to be adopted by
        any provider of a wire or electronic communication service, any
        manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, or any provider of
        telecommunications support services; or
            (B) to prohibit the adoption of any equipment, facility,
        service, or feature by any provider of a wire or electronic
        communication service, any manufacturer of telecommunications
        equipment, or any provider of telecommunications support
        services.

           (2) Information services; private networks and
                   interconnection services and facilities

        The requirements of subsection (a) of this section do not apply
    to--
            (A) information services; or
            (B) equipment, facilities, or services that support the
        transport or switching of communications for private networks or
        for the sole purpose of interconnecting telecommunications
        carriers.

                           (3) Encryption

        A telecommunications carrier shall not be responsible for
    decrypting, or ensuring the government's ability to decrypt, any
    communication encrypted by a subscriber or customer, unless the
    encryption was provided by the carrier and the carrier possesses the
    information necessary to decrypt the communication.

(c) Emergency or exigent circumstances

    In emergency or exigent circumstances (including 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)
of this section by allowing monitoring at its premises if that is the
only means of accomplishing the interception or access.

(d) Mobile service assistance requirements

    A telecommunications carrier that is a provider of commercial mobile
service (as defined in section 332(d) of this title) offering a feature
or service that allows subscribers to redirect, hand off, or assign
their wire or electronic communications to another service area or
another service provider or to utilize facilities in another 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 access
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) identifying the provider of a
wire or electronic communication service that has acquired access to the
communications.

(Pub. L. 103-414, title I, Sec. 103, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4280.)

                             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.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 229, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008,
1010 of this title.
