In a panel discussion at a forum at Cardozo Law School in New York last year, I argued that in an age of convergence, the Computer Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) would inevitably end up being applied directly to Internet communications. We’re now seeing my prediction come true.

Officially, CALEA was passed in 1994 to apply only to traditional voice communications over the traditional phone network, but the Federal Communications Commission has recently interpreted the law in a more expansive way, ostensibly to address Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) communications. The result? Everybody who’s part of the Internet is now going to be asked (or required) to build in wiretappability.

This New York Times story is just the tip of the iceberg.