FCC chief calls for probe of phone cos.

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bob Rosenberg <bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us>
Date: May 16, 2006 4:24:35 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: AP: FCC chief calls for probe of phone cos.

Dave

Perhaps for IP.

Maybe there will be an investigation.

Cordially,

Bob Rosenberg
P.O. Box 33023
Phoenix, AZ  85067-3023
LandLine:  (602)274-3012
Mobile:  (602)206-2856
bob () bobrosenberg phoenix az us

**********************************************


“Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
                               Malcolm Forbes

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        Posted on Tue, May. 16, 2006
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14589716.htm

FCC chief calls for probe of phone cos.

DOUGLASS K. DANIEL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the
telephone industry, should open an investigation into whether the  
nation's
phone companies broke the law by turning over millions of calling  
records to
the government, an FCC commissioner says.

The National Security Agency has been collecting records of calls  
made in the
U.S. by ordinary Americans as part of its anti-terrorism efforts,  
according to
USA Today. The newspaper story followed reports that the NSA has been
conducting eavesdropping on the electronic communications of  
suspected al-Qaida
members and their contacts in the U.S. without warrants.

"There is no doubt that protecting the security of the American  
people is our
government's No. 1 responsibility," Commissioner Michael J. Copps, a  
Democrat,
said in a statement Monday. "But in a digital age where collecting,
distributing and manipulating consumers' personal information is as  
easy as a
click of a button, the privacy of our citizens must still matter."

AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. began  
turning over
tens of millions of phone records to the NSA after the spy agency  
requested the
records shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, USA Today
reported last week. The paper said the NSA is building a massive call  
databank
to analyze calling patterns.

The telecommunications company Qwest said it refused to cooperate  
with the NSA
after deciding that doing so would violate privacy law.

On Monday, Atlanta-based BellSouth issued a statement that an  
internal review
had "confirmed no such contract exists and we have not provided bulk  
customer
calling records to the NSA." Verizon has refused to confirm or deny  
whether it
has participated in the program.

The New York Times reported in December that the NSA was  
eavesdropping on
electronic communications involving suspected al-Qaida members abroad  
and
associates in the U.S. Critics of the program have questioned whether  
the NSA
has stepped outside the law by not seeking court-ordered warrants.

President Bush, while not discussing the details of any NSA programs  
directed at
detecting terrorism plots, has repeatedly assured Americans that the  
initiatives
he authorizes are within the law and the Constitution and are not  
violating the
privacy of ordinary Americans.

When the NSA developed the programs it was under the direction of Air  
Force Gen.
Michael Hayden, now Bush's choice to replace Porter Goss as head of  
the CIA. The
eavesdropping program and the phone call databank are likely to be  
the focus of
questions Thursday when the Senate Intelligence Committee begins  
Hayden's
confirmation hearings.

Sen. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the Senate  
Judiciary
Committee, has said he wants to gather testimony from phone company
representatives about how they work with the NSA.

An FCC investigation, if undertaken, would be the second attempt this  
year by
the government to explore an aspect of an NSA program. The Justice  
Department
sought to investigate the role of its lawyers in the warrantless  
eavesdropping
program, but it ended the inquiry last week because its lawyers were  
denied
security clearances.

ON THE NET

Federal Communications Commission: http://www.fcc.gov


© 2006 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.mercurynews.com




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