After More Than A Year, The Truth Comes Out:
Phone Companies Violated Customer Privacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 24, 2007

Portland:  More than a year after launching an inquiry into phone company privacy rights violations, Maine privacy activists got their answer: phone companies have, in fact, cooperated with the National Security Agency and broken the law.  The revelations came in an interview given to the El Paso Times by Director of National Intelligence, Michael McConnell, regarding the administration's warrantless surveillance activities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).  In particular, McConnell disclosed the phone company involvement in the context of advocating that Congress provide immunity for the phone companies, which are facing lawsuits all over the country.

“For more than a year, this administration swore that any disclosure regarding the phone companies would jeopardize national security.  Now that it serves their political purpose, the Director of National Intelligence is providing selective interviews to the press while the administration continues to fight against disclosures in court,” noted MCLU Legal Director Zachary Heiden.  "It is time for the administration and the phone companies to come clean with people of Maine about the honest extent of these privacy violations.”

In May 2006, Douglas Cowie and 22 other Maine privacy activists initiated an investigation into phone customer privacy violations, which became the model for a nationwide campaign.  The investigation began at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, but quickly moved to Federal Court as the administration and phone companies sought to block any inquiry into their activity.  The administration claimed that any discussion of the phone company involvement would jeopardize national security and put American lives at risk.  Against the backdrop of those assertions, the Federal Court in Maine enjoined the PUC from conducting any further inquiry into the program. 

“The Maine complainants aren’t surprised the phone companies were involved,” said Mr. Cowie, a former employee of the PUC and privacy-rights advocate who lead the charge for the Maine investigation.  “We are surprised that the administration couldn’t tell the PUC and couldn’t tell the Federal Court, but it can tell the El Paso Times that our rights were violated.”
McConnell confirmed to the El Paso Times that private telecom companies assisted in the administration's warrantless surveillance program. There are currently several lawsuits pending against those companies for such participation, but the government has claimed the lawsuits should not proceed due to "state secrets" concerns. McConnell reiterated his determination to lobby Congress as early as September to provide complete immunity for the telecom companies as well as to expand the administration's domestic spying authority even further.
“These phone companies should be held accountable for their spying, and the administration should be held accountable for its lying,” said MCLU Cooperating Attorney John Paterson.  “That the administration is so keen on statutory immunity shows that the administration does not want to be held accountable for its illegal surveillance of American citizens.”
 
The MCLU called on the administration to withdraw its state-secrets objections to any inquiries into the extent of phone company involvement and to provide honest answers about the extent of these programs.  The MCLU hopes that Congress would not even contemplate any grant of immunity until the administration and the phone companies provide full and frank information about the programs.

###