J
Joe S.
Guest
QUOTE
Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders
Firm's Letter to Lawmakers Details Government Requests
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 16, 2007; A01
Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told
congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone
records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders
hundreds of times since 2005.
The company said it does not determine the requests' legality or necessity
because to do so would slow efforts to save lives in criminal
investigations.
In an Oct. 12 letter replying to Democratic lawmakers, Verizon offered a
rare glimpse into the way telecommunications companies cooperate with
government requests for information on U.S. citizens.
Verizon also disclosed that the FBI, using administrative subpoenas, sought
information identifying not just a person making a call, but all the people
that customer called, as well as the people those people called. Verizon
does not keep data on this "two-generation community of interest" for
customers, but the request highlights the broad reach of the government's
quest for data.
The disclosures, in a letter from Verizon to three Democrats on the House
Energy and Commerce Committee investigating the carriers' participation in
government surveillance programs, demonstrated the willingness of telecom
companies to comply with government requests for data, even, at times,
without traditional legal supporting documents. The committee members also
got letters from AT&T and Qwest Communications International, but those
letters did not provide details on customer data given to the government.
None of the three carriers gave details on any classified government
surveillance program.
From January 2005 to September 2007, Verizon provided data to federal
authorities on an emergency basis 720 times, it said in the letter. The
records included Internet protocol addresses as well as phone data. In that
period, Verizon turned over information a total of 94,000 times to federal
authorities armed with a subpoena or court order, the letter said. The
information was used for a range of criminal investigations, including
kidnapping and child-predator cases and counter-terrorism investigations.
Verizon and AT&T said it was not their role to second-guess the legitimacy
of emergency government requests.
The letters were released yesterday by the lawmakers as Congress debates
whether to grant telecom carriers immunity in cases in which they are sued
for disclosing customers' phone records and other data as part of the
government's post-September 11 surveillance program, even if they did not
have court authorization. House Democrats have said that they cannot
contemplate such immunity without first understanding the nature of the
carriers' cooperation with the government.
"The responses from these telecommunications companies highlight the need of
Congress to continue pressing the Bush administration for answers. The water
is as murky as ever on this issue, and it's past time for the administration
to come clean," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who launched the
investigation with panel Chairman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), and Rep. Bart
Stupak (D-Mich.).
Congressional Democrats have been largely stymied in their efforts to have
the Bush administration disclose the scope and nature of its surveillance
and data-gathering efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Revelations
have come through press reports, advocacy groups' Freedom of Information Act
lawsuits and Justice Department inspector general reports.
In May 2006, USA Today reported that the National Security Agency had been
secretly collecting the phone-call records of tens of millions of Americans,
using data provided by major telecom firms. Qwest, it reported, declined to
participate because of fears that the program lacked legal standing.
Last month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group in San
Francisco, obtained records through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
showing that the FBI sought data from telecom companies about the calling
habits of suspects and their associates, the New York Times reported.
Neither Qwest nor AT&T answered the lawmakers' question as to whether they
had received such requests for information.
Yesterday's 13-page Verizon letter indicated that the requests went further
than previously known. Verizon said it had received FBI administrative
subpoenas, called national security letters, requesting data that would
"identify a calling circle" for subscribers' telephone numbers, including
people contacted by the people contacted by the subscriber. Verizon said it
does not keep such information.
"The privacy concerns are exponential each generation you go away from the
suspect's number," said Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney with the EFF.
"This shows that further investigation by Congress and the inspector general
is critical."
Earlier this year, the Justice Department's inspector general found that the
FBI may have improperly obtained phone, bank and other records of thousands
of people inside the United States since 2003 by using national security
letters and exigent letters, or emergency demands for records.
Michael Kortan, an FBI spokesman, said the bureau has suspended use of
community-of-interest data "while an appropriate oversight and approval
policy" is developed. He added that the inspector general is reviewing the
use of those data.
Both Verizon and AT&T suggested in their letters that they already enjoy
legal immunity under existing laws. But AT&T said that when the lawsuits
involve allegations of highly classified activity, the company cannot prove
its immunity claims.
Carriers are facing a raft of lawsuits from individuals and privacy
advocates, such as the EFF and the American Civil Liberties Union, for
allegedly violating Americans' privacy by aiding the NSA's warrantless
surveillance program.
The federal government has intervened, arguing that to continue the case
would divulge "state secrets," jeopardizing national security.
The Senate Intelligence Committee could draft a bill this week that includes
relief for the carriers. The administration is seeking blanket immunity,
which would extend to anyone sued for assisting the government -- not just
telecom carriers -- in its post-Sept. 11 surveillance programs.
"It's rare in these situations where there's agreement between the
plaintiffs and the defendants -- that there are plenty of protections for
telecommunications providers in the existing laws," said the EFF's Opsahl,
adding that no new immunity is necessary. "It appears that we both agree
that the court should be able to look at the full situation, despite the
state-secrets privilege."
In its letter, Verizon said that on occasion, it receives requests without
correct authorizations. For instance, it said, it once received a request
for stored voice mail without a warrant. The company does not respond until
proper authorization is received, it said.
AT&T and Verizon both argued that the onus should not be on the companies to
determine whether the government has lawfully requested customer records. To
do so in emergency cases would "slow lawful efforts to protect the public,"
wrote Randal S. Milch, senior vice president of legal and external affairs
for Verizon Business, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications.
"Public officials, not private businessmen, must ultimately be responsible
for whether the legal judgments underlying authorized surveillance
activities turn out to be right or wrong -- legally or politically," wrote
Wayne Watts, AT&T's senior executive vice president and general counsel.
"Telecommunications carriers have a part to play in guarding against
official abuses, but it is necessarily a modest one."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101501857.html?hpid=topnews
END QUOTE
Stalin, Hitler, Mao must be smiling -- we are now no better then they.
Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders
Firm's Letter to Lawmakers Details Government Requests
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 16, 2007; A01
Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told
congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone
records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders
hundreds of times since 2005.
The company said it does not determine the requests' legality or necessity
because to do so would slow efforts to save lives in criminal
investigations.
In an Oct. 12 letter replying to Democratic lawmakers, Verizon offered a
rare glimpse into the way telecommunications companies cooperate with
government requests for information on U.S. citizens.
Verizon also disclosed that the FBI, using administrative subpoenas, sought
information identifying not just a person making a call, but all the people
that customer called, as well as the people those people called. Verizon
does not keep data on this "two-generation community of interest" for
customers, but the request highlights the broad reach of the government's
quest for data.
The disclosures, in a letter from Verizon to three Democrats on the House
Energy and Commerce Committee investigating the carriers' participation in
government surveillance programs, demonstrated the willingness of telecom
companies to comply with government requests for data, even, at times,
without traditional legal supporting documents. The committee members also
got letters from AT&T and Qwest Communications International, but those
letters did not provide details on customer data given to the government.
None of the three carriers gave details on any classified government
surveillance program.
From January 2005 to September 2007, Verizon provided data to federal
authorities on an emergency basis 720 times, it said in the letter. The
records included Internet protocol addresses as well as phone data. In that
period, Verizon turned over information a total of 94,000 times to federal
authorities armed with a subpoena or court order, the letter said. The
information was used for a range of criminal investigations, including
kidnapping and child-predator cases and counter-terrorism investigations.
Verizon and AT&T said it was not their role to second-guess the legitimacy
of emergency government requests.
The letters were released yesterday by the lawmakers as Congress debates
whether to grant telecom carriers immunity in cases in which they are sued
for disclosing customers' phone records and other data as part of the
government's post-September 11 surveillance program, even if they did not
have court authorization. House Democrats have said that they cannot
contemplate such immunity without first understanding the nature of the
carriers' cooperation with the government.
"The responses from these telecommunications companies highlight the need of
Congress to continue pressing the Bush administration for answers. The water
is as murky as ever on this issue, and it's past time for the administration
to come clean," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who launched the
investigation with panel Chairman John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), and Rep. Bart
Stupak (D-Mich.).
Congressional Democrats have been largely stymied in their efforts to have
the Bush administration disclose the scope and nature of its surveillance
and data-gathering efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Revelations
have come through press reports, advocacy groups' Freedom of Information Act
lawsuits and Justice Department inspector general reports.
In May 2006, USA Today reported that the National Security Agency had been
secretly collecting the phone-call records of tens of millions of Americans,
using data provided by major telecom firms. Qwest, it reported, declined to
participate because of fears that the program lacked legal standing.
Last month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group in San
Francisco, obtained records through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
showing that the FBI sought data from telecom companies about the calling
habits of suspects and their associates, the New York Times reported.
Neither Qwest nor AT&T answered the lawmakers' question as to whether they
had received such requests for information.
Yesterday's 13-page Verizon letter indicated that the requests went further
than previously known. Verizon said it had received FBI administrative
subpoenas, called national security letters, requesting data that would
"identify a calling circle" for subscribers' telephone numbers, including
people contacted by the people contacted by the subscriber. Verizon said it
does not keep such information.
"The privacy concerns are exponential each generation you go away from the
suspect's number," said Kurt Opsahl, senior staff attorney with the EFF.
"This shows that further investigation by Congress and the inspector general
is critical."
Earlier this year, the Justice Department's inspector general found that the
FBI may have improperly obtained phone, bank and other records of thousands
of people inside the United States since 2003 by using national security
letters and exigent letters, or emergency demands for records.
Michael Kortan, an FBI spokesman, said the bureau has suspended use of
community-of-interest data "while an appropriate oversight and approval
policy" is developed. He added that the inspector general is reviewing the
use of those data.
Both Verizon and AT&T suggested in their letters that they already enjoy
legal immunity under existing laws. But AT&T said that when the lawsuits
involve allegations of highly classified activity, the company cannot prove
its immunity claims.
Carriers are facing a raft of lawsuits from individuals and privacy
advocates, such as the EFF and the American Civil Liberties Union, for
allegedly violating Americans' privacy by aiding the NSA's warrantless
surveillance program.
The federal government has intervened, arguing that to continue the case
would divulge "state secrets," jeopardizing national security.
The Senate Intelligence Committee could draft a bill this week that includes
relief for the carriers. The administration is seeking blanket immunity,
which would extend to anyone sued for assisting the government -- not just
telecom carriers -- in its post-Sept. 11 surveillance programs.
"It's rare in these situations where there's agreement between the
plaintiffs and the defendants -- that there are plenty of protections for
telecommunications providers in the existing laws," said the EFF's Opsahl,
adding that no new immunity is necessary. "It appears that we both agree
that the court should be able to look at the full situation, despite the
state-secrets privilege."
In its letter, Verizon said that on occasion, it receives requests without
correct authorizations. For instance, it said, it once received a request
for stored voice mail without a warrant. The company does not respond until
proper authorization is received, it said.
AT&T and Verizon both argued that the onus should not be on the companies to
determine whether the government has lawfully requested customer records. To
do so in emergency cases would "slow lawful efforts to protect the public,"
wrote Randal S. Milch, senior vice president of legal and external affairs
for Verizon Business, a subsidiary of Verizon Communications.
"Public officials, not private businessmen, must ultimately be responsible
for whether the legal judgments underlying authorized surveillance
activities turn out to be right or wrong -- legally or politically," wrote
Wayne Watts, AT&T's senior executive vice president and general counsel.
"Telecommunications carriers have a part to play in guarding against
official abuses, but it is necessarily a modest one."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101501857.html?hpid=topnews
END QUOTE
Stalin, Hitler, Mao must be smiling -- we are now no better then they.
