FBI: We can not listen to voice calls from Facebook Messenger. Judge: No luck

A federal judge in Fresno, California, recently dismissed the prosecutors' request to force Facebook to listen to phone calls from alleged gang members via Messenger.

According to a report released by Reuters on Friday, although traditional phone tapping has already been recorded and Messenger text is being intercepted between suspected MS-13 gangsters, the government wanted more access.

"Currently, there is no practical method available for law enforcement agencies to monitor these appeals," FBI Special Agent Ryan Yetter wrote in an affidavit of nearly 100 Pages submitted to court on August 30, 2018. The three appeals are now in jail, according to Reuters.

The judicial process, decision and record that deal with the wiretap application remain sealed. According to Reuters, Facebook has the ability to listen to calls via Messenger "with some effort", but it can not for WhatsApp calls. The government now seems to have abandoned its request.

While traditional telecommunications companies must provide access to the police under the CALEA law of the 1990s, Internet calls are exempt, despite previous efforts by the government to amend the law. Prosecutors have apparently argued that Facebook must nevertheless comply with the government's request.

Mark Broughton, the lawyer of one of the accused, Denis Barrera-Palma, did not immediately respond to Ars's request for comment.

However, Broughton told Reuters that he would request the application to listen to Messenger's voice calls, which could eventually be incorporated into the court's public record.

Facebook did not immediately respond to Ars's request for comment.