MCLU Demands an Investigation by the PUC;
Over 400 Mainers Join the Call for Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 12, 2006

Portland- The Maine Civil Liberties Union today delivered petitions from over 360 people to the Maine Public Utilities Commission, urging that body to investigate the cooperation of Verizon with the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance and data-mining of Americans.  The action follows a nationwide call by ACLU affiliates to their respective Public Utility Commissions or state Attorneys General and other officials demanding investigations into whether local telecommunications companies allowed the NSA to illegally spy on their customers.

The MCLU, acting as intervenors in the complaint originally filed on May 9th, also entered comments today in support of the 40 complainants.  

“Today, the people of Maine have stepped forward to demand that their government investigate this massive, illegal and fundamentally un-American invasion of our privacy,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the MCLU.  “We join with tens of thousands of concerned citizens in calling upon on state officials across the nation to demand investigations into this breach of trust.  The people of Maine – and all Americans – want the truth.”

In its original 44-page response to the Maine PUC’s initial request for information, Verizon refused to either confirm or deny cooperation in the illegal National Security Agency program, arguing that the Public Utilities Commission lacks the authority to investigate whether Verizon has provided NSA access to its customer records and its switching machines in Maine.  The MCLU insists that the Public Utilities Commission has both the authority and the responsibility to investigate whether telecommunications companies are violating the privacy of their customers.

In addition to the 360 petitions delivered to the Maine PUC, tens of thousands of petitions were delivered to state Public Utilities Commissions nationwide. 

Nationally, the ACLU has filed complaints with 20 state utilities commissions and other officials, specifically calling for investigations into the unlawful sharing of billions of consumers' call records with the NSA.  If the sharing is found to be in violation of state law, the ACLU is urging that officials issue "cease-and-desist" orders to the telecommunications companies in their state.

The American Civil Liberties Union today also sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to reconsider its refusal to investigate reports that at least three major telecommunications companies -- AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon -- cooperated with the NSA in an effort to collect calling information and call patterns on every American. 

In legal papers submitted last week, the ACLU argued to a federal court in Detroit that the NSA's spying program is unconstitutional and violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).  The court will hear arguments in the case today.

“The rule of law has been broken, and it must be restored,” said Bellows.  “The people of the great state of Maine are proud to stand against this abuse of power.  We urge our state officials to bring the truth to light.”

For more information on the case and to read the MCLU’s comments, go to www.mclu.org.

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