Gold9472
05-27-2006, 10:28 AM
ACLU sues phone companies for turning over records to NSA
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14678001.htm
DAN GOODIN
5/27/2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Three chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union sued AT&T Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. in state court Friday to block the telecommunications companies from providing phone records to the federal government.
Two complaints filed in San Francisco Superior Court claim the companies violated state law by helping the National Security Agency assemble the largest database in the world.
The complaints name 17 individuals as plaintiffs, including a former congressman, a nationally syndicated journalist and a psychiatrist.
The allegations, which a spokesman from Verizon denied, are based on a May 11 article from USA Today, which said AT&T, Verizon and other companies provided the NSA with records showing the calling patterns of millions of phone customers in the United States. Data included phone numbers of both parties, call time, date and length of call.
"The fact of making the call needs to remain private," said ACLU lawyer Ann Brick.
Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni said the suit against his company was meritless. He declined to elaborate.
In a written statement, Verizon denied news reports that it entered into an agreement with the NSA to provide data from its customers' domestic calls.
AT&T issued a statement that said it does not provide caller records to law enforcement officials or government agencies without "legal authorization."
Federal officials have declined to say whether they are compiling such a database, but President Bush has said his administration's anti-terrorism surveillance programs are legal and constitutional.
The lawsuits come two days after ACLU chapters filed complaints with state officials in 20 states over the spying allegations and mounted a national advertising campaign dubbed "Don't Spy on Me."
Wednesday's complaints were filed with utility officials or attorneys general in those states, which include New York, Texas and Connecticut.
Plaintiffs in the San Francisco lawsuits include former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell and Robert Scheer, a syndicated columnist and reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/14678001.htm
DAN GOODIN
5/27/2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Three chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union sued AT&T Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. in state court Friday to block the telecommunications companies from providing phone records to the federal government.
Two complaints filed in San Francisco Superior Court claim the companies violated state law by helping the National Security Agency assemble the largest database in the world.
The complaints name 17 individuals as plaintiffs, including a former congressman, a nationally syndicated journalist and a psychiatrist.
The allegations, which a spokesman from Verizon denied, are based on a May 11 article from USA Today, which said AT&T, Verizon and other companies provided the NSA with records showing the calling patterns of millions of phone customers in the United States. Data included phone numbers of both parties, call time, date and length of call.
"The fact of making the call needs to remain private," said ACLU lawyer Ann Brick.
Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni said the suit against his company was meritless. He declined to elaborate.
In a written statement, Verizon denied news reports that it entered into an agreement with the NSA to provide data from its customers' domestic calls.
AT&T issued a statement that said it does not provide caller records to law enforcement officials or government agencies without "legal authorization."
Federal officials have declined to say whether they are compiling such a database, but President Bush has said his administration's anti-terrorism surveillance programs are legal and constitutional.
The lawsuits come two days after ACLU chapters filed complaints with state officials in 20 states over the spying allegations and mounted a national advertising campaign dubbed "Don't Spy on Me."
Wednesday's complaints were filed with utility officials or attorneys general in those states, which include New York, Texas and Connecticut.
Plaintiffs in the San Francisco lawsuits include former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell and Robert Scheer, a syndicated columnist and reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle.