A trap and trace device captures incoming

phone call A telephone call, phone call, voice call, or simply a call, is the effective use of a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party. Telephone calls are the form of human communication that was first enabl ...

s to a particular number, similar to a how a pen register captures outgoing phone calls.

Description

Title 18 of the

United States Code The United States Code (formally The Code of Laws of the United States of America) is the official Codification (law), codification of the general and permanent Law of the United States#Federal law, federal statutes of the United States. It ...

defines a trap and trace device as follows: : The term "trap and trace device" means a device or process which captures the incoming electronic or other impulses which identify the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling information reasonably likely to identify the source of a wire or electronic communication, provided, however, that such information shall not include the contents of any communication A trap and trace device shows what numbers had called a specific

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

—i.e., all ''incoming'' phone numbers. A pen register rather would show what numbers a phone had called, i.e. all ''outgoing'' phone numbers. The two terms are often used in concert, especially in the context of Internet communications. They are often jointly referred to as "Pen Register or Trap and Trace devices" to reflect the fact that the same program will probably do both functions in the modern era, and the distinction is not that important. The term "pen register" is often used to describe both pen registers and trap and trace devices.

Relevance to USA PATRIOT Act

Uses of trap and trace devices are a

sunset provision In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a measure within a statute, regulation, or other law that provides for the law to cease to be effective after a specified date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend it. Unli ...

of the USA PATRIOT Act. Prior to the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act, the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA, , ) is a Law of the United States, United States federal law that establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil.18 U.S.C. § 3127
– Definitions for chapter Along with giving the government easier access to communications between the sender and receiver, section 214 of PATRIOT ACT eliminated the prerequisite that the government prove that the suspect is, "an agent of foreign power". The use of trap and trace orders are still prohibited for activities that are protected under the First Amendment.

Notes

References

External links

* http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/sunset.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20090305022104/http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/PatriotAct.htm Law enforcement equipment Telephony {{telephony-stub