"Albert Gidari, a leading surveillance lawyer who has represented Google and other companies and is now director of privacy at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society, argues that the government is over-reaching in its request. He points to a 1994 telecommunications law that says the government does not have the power to require companies to implement “any specific design of equipment, facilities, services, features, or system configurations” for surveillance purposes.
The government argues that the 1994 law is irrelevant to its case, and instead is relying on a 1789 law, the All Writs Act, that gives courts “all writs necessary and appropriate” to conduct their business."