Telecoms won't Talk

An Associated Press article on MSNBC.com entitled Telecoms won't talk about surveillance, outlines the eminent trouble that telecom companies, such as Verizon and AT&T, will be in for participating in Bush administration surveillance programs without court orders. According to the article, these telecom companies have refused to tell Congress whether they gave U.S. Intelligence Agencies access to private information including "calling circles" and subscriber information.

In the midst of all of this, the House is making plans to consider a new government eavesdropping bill, which could penalize the telecoms that illegally provided information for U.S. Intelligence Agencies. The article states the Bush administration has said "the companies cooperated in good faith because of their patriotism and desire to protect the country in the wake of September 11th." Little good their "patriotism" did them now.

I have a hard time believing that telecom companies would willingly give up sensitive information, September 11th or not, knowing that would risk them their company's reputation. Patriotism in this occassion most likely had nothing to do with it. I think that because our privacy rights have been so blatantly violated post September 11th, that Congress is now backtracking and looking for someone to lay the blame on, whether it be the Bush Administration or the telecoms themselves.

A lot of this comes from the Patriot Act. Congress, understandably, panicked after September 11th and did everything in its power to make sure that Americans were protected from terrorism, including taking away the right to privacy that we fought so hard for we had to label it a penumbra of rights pieced together from several different amendments. In its wake, however, by panicking Congress may have passed one of the worst bills of all time in the Patriot Act. Now, as they're trying to make up for it, they're blaming the Bush Administration for its abused use.

To be quite honest, while I don't believe the telecoms should have helped the Bush Administration commit privacy violations through non court appointed surveillance methods, I can't blame them for staying mum as the issue heats up. The longer they stay quiet, the more the Bush Administration has to answer for, which includes protecting the telecoms from which it solicited information.

If you're at all concerned about your privacy, or you just want to read more about this article and stay informed on the development of the House's new eavesdropping bill, go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21322332/from/ET/