Editing Voice over IP (section)

===United States===
In the United States, the FCC requires all interconnected VoIP service providers to comply with requirements comparable to those for traditional telecommunications service providers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cybertelecom.org/voip/fcc.htm|title=Cybertelecom :: VoIP :: FCC|first=Genny|last=Pershing|website=www.cybertelecom.org|access-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref> VoIP operators in the US are required to support [[local number portability]]; make service accessible to people with disabilities; pay regulatory fees, [[universal service]] contributions, and other mandated payments; and enable law enforcement authorities to conduct surveillance pursuant to the [[Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act]] (CALEA).

Operators of ''Interconnected'' VoIP (fully connected to the PSTN) are mandated to provide [[Enhanced 911]] service without special request, provide for customer location updates, clearly disclose any limitations on their E-911 functionality to their consumers, obtain affirmative acknowledgements of these disclosures from all consumers,<ref>[http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/47cfr9_07.html GPO.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608124332/http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_07/47cfr9_07.html |date=June 8, 2010 }}, 47 C.F.R. pt. 9 (2007)</ref> and may not allow their customers to opt-out of 911 service.<ref name=FCC-VoIP-911>{{cite web|title=VoIP and 911 Service|date=May 26, 2011|url=http://www.fcc.gov/guides/voip-and-911-service|publisher=FCC|access-date=August 16, 2014}}</ref> VoIP operators also receive the benefit of certain US telecommunications regulations, including an entitlement to [[interconnection]] and exchange of traffic with [[incumbent local exchange carrier]]s via wholesale carriers. Providers of ''nomadic'' VoIP service—those who are unable to determine the location of their users—are exempt from state telecommunications regulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/voip/|title=Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)|date=November 18, 2010|access-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref>

Another legal issue that the [[US Congress]] is debating concerns changes to the [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act]]. The issue in question is calls between Americans and foreigners. The NSA is not authorized to tap Americans' conversations without a warrant—but the Internet, and specifically VoIP does not draw as clear a line to the location of a caller or a call's recipient as the traditional phone system does. As VoIP's low cost and flexibility convinces more and more organizations to adopt the technology, surveillance for law enforcement agencies becomes more difficult. VoIP technology has also increased federal security concerns because VoIP and similar technologies have made it more difficult for the government to determine where a target is physically located when communications are being intercepted, and that creates a whole set of new legal challenges.<ref name="Greenberg">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/05/15/wiretapping-voip-lichtblau-tech-security08-cx_ag_0515wiretap.html/|title=The State Of Cybersecurity Wiretapping's Fuzzy Future|date=May 15, 2008|last=Greenberg|first=Andy |access-date=March 2, 2009|work=Forbes}}</ref>