A circuit court of appeals judge began hearing arguments Friday in a lawsuit over whether the Federal Communications Commission went too far in expanding the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Sun Microsystems, the American Council on Education, the Center for Democracy and Technology and other groups have challenged the FCC's expansion of CALEA so Internet networks can be easier to wiretap.

The FCC ruled last year that companies that provide VoIP or net access must overhaul their networks for wiretapping. Last week, the FCC announced that the private groups would have to pay for the technology mandate.

EFF estimates that would cost $7 billion for universities alone. EFF argues that the expansion of CALEAplan is unnecessary, would harm the public, and did not receive proper review.

The government argued in court documents that national security could be threatened if authorities cannot monitor broadband and VoIP communications.

Since CALEA requires warrants, it is separate from the highly-publicized surveillance program the National Security Agency has conducted without warrants.

A recent judicial report on wiretapping showed that American judges signed only eight warrants for Internet wiretaps in 2005.