Wiretapping: The Interaction of Policy and Technology

In recent history, wiretapping has provided an effective means for uncovering potential security threats, both domestically and abroad. Wiretapping as a technology developed first in the 1890’s with the development of the telephone recorder, which quickly followed the invention of the telephone in 1876. Through the years, as new communications technology was developed, methods were quickly adopted to capture the information shared through the new method. The biggest challenge initially with capturing the information has been the ethical and legal battles that have ensued. The ethics and legality associated with wiretapping has been accessed and reassessed with a slew of hearings, policies, and court orders. The amount of discussion on the issue makes the controversial nature of the method clear. Later, with the invention of computers and the internet, wiretapping technology was needed to allow the government a method to maintain security, and policies shifted from a focus on the legality of wiretapping to a focus on regulating technology so the government could maintain necessary security measures.