MCLU Urges No Telecomm Immunity Without Further Investigation;
Intelligence Director’s Comments Cast Doubt on DOJ Claims

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2007

Portland- Today, the Maine Civil Liberties Union urged the Maine Public Utilities Commission to fight against any extension of immunity to telecommunications companies that violated customer privacy.  Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell disclosed last week that phone companies were in need of legislative immunity because of their cooperation with the NSA.  Director McConnell’s disclosures casts serious doubt on a Department of Justice claim that an investigation by the Maine PUC into Verizon’s role would jeopardize national security. 

 “The government keeps saying that an investigation into phone company privacy violations would jeopardize national security.  But now they’ve come out and said it themselves--the phone companies participated in the NSA data collection program,” said Zachary Heiden, MCLU Legal Director. “It is time for the administration and the phone companies to come clean about the full extent of these privacy violations.”

In May of 2006, 22 Verizon Maine customers filed a complaint with the PUC asking the commissioners to investigate whether Verizon had turned over their records to the NSA without customer knowledge.  The DOJ stepped in and sued Verizon and the PUC to halt any investigation.  That case is ongoing.

Last week Director McConnell revealed in an interview with the El Paso Times that phone companies had cooperated with the NSA’s data collection program.  In the interview, he urged Congress to grant the telecoms retroactive immunity for their actions so that they would not be bankrupted by lawsuits.  Congress has already granted the telecoms immunity going forward under the expanded surveillances powers of the Protecting Americans Act, which was passed hastily as Congress went to recess earlier this month.

“Granting immunity to phone companies that may have broken the law is an affront to the privacy rights of innocent Americans,” said Heiden.  “Congress should make sure immunity is out of the question without further investigation.”

You can read the letter online here.