What law did ACME violate by designing the service to prevent access to the information by a law enforcement agency?

A law enforcement subpoenas the ACME telecommunications company for access to text message records of a person suspected of planning a terrorist attack. The company had previously encrypted its text message records so that only the suspect could access this data.

What law did ACME violate by designing the service to prevent access to the information by a law enforcement agency?
A . SCA
B . ECPA
C . CALEA
D . USA Freedom Act

View Answer

Answer: C

Explanation:

The law that ACME violated by designing the service to prevent access to the information by a law enforcement agency is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)1. CALEA is a federal law that requires telecommunications carriers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment to design their equipment, facilities, and services to ensure that they have the necessary surveillance capabilities to comply with legal requests for interception of communications2. CALEA applies to all commercial messages, including text messages, and gives law enforcement agencies the authority to subpoena the records of such communications from the service providers3. By encrypting its text message records so that only the suspect could access this data, ACME violated CALEA’s duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for law enforcement purposes.

Reference: 1: Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act – Wikipedia2: Home | CALEA® | The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.3: Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act : IAPP CIPP/US Certified Information Privacy Professional Study Guide, Chapter 6: Law Enforcement and National Security Access, p. 177