EFF Obtains Records from Behind-the-Scenes Negotiations on Telecom Immunity

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: EFF Press <press () eff org>
Date: November 12, 2009 11:31:47 AM EST
To: presslist () eff org
Subject: [E-B] EFF Obtains Records from Behind-the-Scenes Negotiations  
on Telecom	Immunity
Reply-To: press () eff org

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Thursday, November 12, 2009

Contact:

Marcia Hofmann
 Staff Attorney
 Electronic Frontier Foundation
 marcia () eff org
 +1 415 436-9333 x116

Kurt Opsahl
 Senior Staff Attorney
 Electronic Frontier Foundation
 kurt () eff org
 +1 415 436-9333 x106

EFF Obtains Records from Behind-the-Scenes Negotiations on
Telecom Immunity

Partial Document Release from Government Posted on EFF's
Website

San Francisco, CA - Today the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) posted thousands of pages of records
detailing behind-the-scenes negotiations between government
agencies and Congress about providing immunity for telecoms
involved in illegal government surveillance.

The documents include drafts of legislation and
communications between Congress and the Department of
Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (ODNI) about amendments to the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).  They were released
as a result of litigation that started back in 2007, when
Congress first debated granting immunity to the
telecommunications companies for taking part in massive,
unchecked surveillance of Americans' telephone and Internet
communications.  EFF used the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) to request information about communications between
the DOJ, ODNI, Congress, and telecom lobbyists.

"The government has finally given up its battle to hide
this information from the public and has released a
significant portion of the records we've been fighting
for," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann.  "We hope
that these files include some answers about what happened
when the DOJ and ODNI pushed Congress to pass the law
getting telecoms off the hook for their role in illegal
government surveillance."

The government has said it will continue to try to block
the release of additional documents, including
communications within the Executive Branch and records
reflecting the identities of telecoms involved in lobbying
for immunity.  The government's appeal will be heard before
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2010.

"This case isn't over yet -- there's still more information
about the extensive lobbying campaign by the telecoms that
helped them get immunity last year," said EFF Senior Staff
Attorney Kurt Opsahl.  "The government continues to hide
important documents from the public."

FOIA Release: Draft legislation to amend FISA:
http://www.eff.org/fn/directory/4800/360

FOIA Release: Correspondence about amending FISA, bill
summaries, and other documents:
http://www.eff.org/fn/directory/4800/359

For more on this case:
http://www.eff.org/issues/foia/cases/C-07-05278

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/11/12

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/


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