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THIS WEEK IN THE COMMUNICATIONS INFO CENTER
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136033/article.html?tk=nl_spxnws
August 30th, 2007

When is it okay for telecoms to spy on their customers? When the U.S. government says it is, of course--read our Top Story for details.

U.S. Seeks to Dismiss E-Mail Spying Case
U.S. government wants the EFF's lawsuit against AT&T dismissed; telecom had participated in NSA e-mail and phone spying program.

Robert Mullins, IDG News Service
Thursday, August 16, 2007 6:00 AM PDT

A U.S. appeals court agreed on Wednesday to weigh a government motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the National Security Agency (NSA) monitored phone lines and e-mails without a warrant, but judges asked a government lawyer tough questions over the issue.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class action lawsuit against AT&T Inc. claiming the company violated the privacy rights of its customers when it cooperated with an NSA program of monitoring AT&T customer phone calls and e-mail traffic without warrants.

Deputy Solicitor General Gregory Garre, representing the government, argued that letting the case go to trial, "would reveal the sources, methods and operational details" of government intelligence activities. The alleged monitoring is part of more rigorous surveillance practices put in motion after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

After a two-and-a-half hour hearing, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th District, in San Francisco, said it will consider the dismissal motion as well as a one in a second lawsuit also challenging the NSA program.

But Appeals Court judges Michael Daly Hawkins, Margaret McKeown and Harry Pregerson, peppered Garre with questions, challenging his argument that the state secrets privilege trumps the right of the plaintiffs to have their case heard.

Pregerson asked Garre how a court is to decide whether something the executive branch claims is a state secret is a secret, if the executive branch won't reveal what it claims is a secret.

"Who decides what's a state secret? Are we just a rubber stamp? We're just supposed to take the word of the executive?" Pregerson asked.

Garre responded that the court should give "the utmost deference" to the executive branch's claim that something is a state secret, but acknowledged that it is not an "absolute deference."

The EFF says that AT&T, at one of its offices in San Francisco, diverted Internet traffic, including e-mails and Voice Over IP (VOIP) phone calls, to a separate room in which NSA-authorized people monitored the network traffic. Robert Fram the attorney for EFF, said that just the act of diverting that traffic into a room controlled by the NSA proved their case against AT&T and that they would not have to try to risk violating the state secrets privilege by trying to disclose what was done with the information.

But Garre, in rebuttal, argued that if the surveillance done in that room was approved by a warrant, then there is no violation by the government or AT&T in diverting Internet traffic to that surveillance room.

The second case is that of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. President George W. Bush, which claims the government engaged in warrantless surveillance of their organization, in violation of its constitutional rights.

The appeals judges gave no indication when they might rule on the motion to dismiss. Lee Tien, an EFF staff attorney, said given the notoriety of the case, the judges could render a decision soon, but at the same time, given the gravity of the issues, they might take more time

Related Searches: federal government • electronic freedom foundation • at&t • spying • wiretapping

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3 Replies Last post: Aug 31, 2007 7:57 PM by winxptk
U.S. Seeks to Dismiss E-Mail Spying Case
Aug 16, 2007 6:50 AM

PCWorld 9,793 posts since Aug 1, 2007
Post your comments for U.S. Seeks to Dismiss E-Mail Spying Case here

johnmccarthy 1 posts since Aug 16, 2007

1. U.S. Seeks to Dismiss E-Mail Spying Case Aug 16, 2007 8:10 AM
Here is an example of how and why the US Government 'classifies' material as Top Secret and Secret so that the information won't be accessible for 25 years. And when it is finally 'declassified' and shows blatant disregard for presidential directives issued during national security council meetings, and submitted to the highest law enforcement members of the country, no action is taken as required by US Law. Misprision of treason should be levied against former AG Ashcroft and Senators Shelby and Kyl of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence who were advised of this attempts to expand the war in Vietnam into 60,000 square miles of Cambodia in violation of Presidential Directives issued during NSC meetings. This is an example of what happens to so called 'classified' information. How many more war crimes are committed from action such as this???http://johnmccarthy90066.tripod.com/id258.html

MattMik 41 posts since Aug 9, 2007

2. Aug 16, 2007 12:29 PM
quote:30afea061bDeputy Solicitor General Gregory Garre, representing the government, argued that letting the case go to trial, "would reveal the sources, methods and operational details" of government intelligence activities. The alleged monitoring is part of more rigorous surveillance practices put in motion after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.[/quote:30afea061b]You know, I wish people like this guy would just shut up. September 11 is over, and yes, it was a sad time, but many people are over it. Don't hide information from the public! It's supposed to be a government for the people, by the people.

Make it that way.quote:30afea061bThe second case is that of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. President George W. Bush, which claims the government engaged in warrantless surveillance of their organization, in violation of its constitutional rights.[/quote:30afea061b]Sadly, I have to say I'm with Bush on this one...grr, that sounds so gross to say. The Al-Haramain Foundation was a charity for Al-Qaeda, and they should be watched if what they are doing is evil. If the Al-Haramain Foundation is doing nothing wrong, it won't have a problem.But hey - if the case gets Bush impeached, so be it!

winxptk 4 posts since May 31, 2007

3. U.S. Seeks to Dismiss E-Mail Spying Case Aug 31, 2007 9:15 PM
Ever hear of the Patriot Act? Yeah ummh...NSA has the right to listen in on any and/or all communaction that take place in the us. The NSA has the power to cause a company to go bankrupt There all REMOVED hackers and NSA probley threated them with that or probley revaling some secreat of there's like the PHONE company SUCKS...Bad costomer care and bad service and charges for thing you don't do...anything with an AT&T label throughs yellow flags.

REMOVED Edited by Cosmo, watch your foul language

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House to Consider E-Voting Reform Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that would require a paper record for electronic voting machines. 06-Sep-2007

EFF: Fighting for Bloggers' Rights. If you're a blogger, this website is for you.

EFF's goal is to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger, to let you know you have rights, and to encourage you to blog freely with the knowledge that your legitimate speech is protected.

To that end, we have created the Legal Guide for Bloggers, a collection of blogger-specific FAQs addressing everything from fair use to defamation law to workplace whistle-blowing.

» Learn how you can help support bloggers' rights!

Other ways we're fighting for your rights:

Bloggers can be journalists (and journalists can be bloggers) - We're battling for legal and institutional recognition that if you engage in journalism, you're a journalist, with all of the attendant rights, privileges, and protections. (See Apple v. Does.)

Bloggers are entitled to free speech - We're working to shield you from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits. Internet bullies shouldn't use copyright, libel, or other claims to chill your legitimate speech. (See OPG v. Diebold.)

Bloggers have the right to political speech - We're working with a number of other public-interest organizations to ensure that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) doesn't gag bloggers' election-related speech. We argue that the FEC should adopt a presumption against the regulation of election-related speech by individuals on the Internet, and interpret the existing media exemption to apply to online media outlets that provide news reporting and commentary regarding an election -- including blogs. (See our joint comments to the FEC; [PDF, 332K].)

Bloggers have the right to stay anonymous - We're continuing our battle to protect and preserve your constitutional right to anonymous speech online, including providing a guide to help you with strategies for keeping your identity private when you blog. (See How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else).)

Bloggers have freedom from liability for hosting speech the same way other web hosts do - We're working to strengthen Section 230 liability protections under the Communications Decency Act (CDA) while spreading the word that bloggers are entitled to them. (See Barrett v. Rosenthal.)

RELATED EFF CASES:

Eli Lilly Zyprexa Litigation

Deihl v. Crook

Spocko and KSFO

Apple v. Does

Barrett v. Rosenthal

OPG v. Diebold

Doe Anonymity Cases

RELATED DOCUMENTS:

Legal Guide for Bloggers

FEC Comments (PDF)

How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)

Open Letter Urging Withdrawal of Assembly Bills A1327 and A2623 [PDF] March, 2006
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LEGAL LIABILITY ISSUES
Overview
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BLOGGERS AS JOURNALISTS
Reporter's Privilege
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OTHER LEGAL ISSUES
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Index of all Questions
Paper: How to Blog Safely
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Please note: EFF is a US organization and this guide is based on US law. If you are not a US resident, see our international resources.





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