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Dead Constitution See other Dead Constitution Articles Title: ACLU Launches Nationwide Action Against NSA Snooping on Americans’ Phone Calls NEW YORK, NY -- ACLU affiliates in 18 states today followed the lead of a group of Mainers and filed complaints with Public Utility Commissions or sent letters to state Attorneys General and other officials demanding investigations into whether local telecommunications companies allowed the NSA to spy on their customers. Two weeks ago, the Maine Civil Liberties Union filed a petition to intervene in a similar complaint filed by James Cowie and 20 other Mainers; the MCLU has since made the materials from that complaint available to other affiliates. “It’s time for this illegal invasion of privacy, that could affect everyone in this country, to be unveiled,” said Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the MCLU. “We do not seek to obstruct legitimate law enforcement activities, but we are determined to stand up for the fundamental privacy and due process rights of people whose telephone records have been divulged without a warrant, notice or consent.” In addition to complaints filed with state communication officials, the American Civil Liberties Union today also sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission demanding an investigation. The letter to the FCC points to the phone companies’ denials of wrongdoing as well as recent attempts by the Bush administration -- via a Presidential Memorandum -- to immunize the companies from some liability for false statements they make in concealing matters of “national security.” “The inconsistency of these statements and the conscious disregard of the law underscore the need for an independent entity like the FCC to conduct a review and uncover the truth,” the ACLU letter said. In complaints sent to state utilities commissions and other officials around the country, the ACLU is calling for investigations into the unlawful sharing of millions 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. Maine was joined in its campaign by ACLU affiliates in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Other ACLU affiliates are expected to file additional letters and complaints in the coming weeks. “We cannot sit by while the government and the phone companies collude in this massive, illegal and fundamentally un-American invasion of our privacy,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. “And unfortunately, we cannot wait for Congress to act. The ACLU is mobilizing its members and supporters nationwide to demand investigations into this shocking breach of trust. And we are asking the FCC to use its authority to uncover the facts about how far the president's illegal spying has gone. The American people want answers.” As part of its nationwide campaign, the ACLU today is running full-page advertisements in The New York Times and half a dozen major daily newspapers, with the headline: “If You’ve Used a Telephone in the Last Five Years, Read This.” The advertisement provides a link to http://www.aclu.org/dontspy, where individuals can add their names to the public record in the ACLU’s complaints with Public Utility Commissions and send e-mails to the FCC urging that it investigate the matter. “We are seeking to create the perfect storm to end illegal NSA spying,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program. When the NSA spying program was initially uncovered last December, the ACLU was one of the first organizations to bring a legal challenge, acting on behalf of a prominent and politically diverse group of journalists, scholars and lawyers. That challenge will be heard before Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit on Monday, June 12; it will be the first ever hearing on the legality of NSA spying since the program was disclosed. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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