[Infowarrior] - Judge tells US administration to release telco snooping records

[Richard Forno]

Judge tells US administration to release telco snooping records

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By John Oram: Thursday, 29 November 2007, 12:23 PM

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11/29/f-judge-tells-adminis
tration

A BEWIGGED lady judge told the U.S. Government to release all records of
telephone industry lobbying contacts by December 10. The date is in time for
a congressional debate on President Bush's push to protect largest telephone
firms from suits over "secret 'Big Brother' snooping².

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted an injunction sought by the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, which represents customers in a lawsuit
against AT&T. The suit accuses the company of illegally giving a federal
agency unlimited access to phone calls, e-mails and customer databases for
the government's program of monitoring communications between Americans and
suspected foreign terrorists.

EFF's suit is also supported by the claims of whistleblower, Mark Klein, a
former technician for AT&T. Klein testified before Congress earlier this
month and said there are 15 to 20 rooms with dozens of people taking data
directly from a splitter on the fibre. He says the White House has portrayed
this as a narrow problem. When actually EVERYTHING on the Internet is being
looked at by the National Security Agency. Klein is obviously opposed to
changing the law to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications
companies that would protect them from such court challenges.

In August of this year, EFF filed a Freedom of Information Act requesting
records of recent communications on the immunity issue between the office of
National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell, telecommunications
companies, and members of Congress. McConnell's office has not provided any
records and has told the foundation its review should be finished by
December 31, which is after lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the immunity
issue.

Madam Illston says sooner is better than later. Her ruling showed she agreed
"the administration is dragging its feet in making relevant information
available," said David Sobel, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier
Foundation.

The EFF suit against AT&T is just one of about two dozen suits against
telecommunications companies over the wiretapping program. All those cases
have been consolidated in San Francisco's Federal Appeals Court. µ