Senate Accord with President Could Mean Immunity for Telcos
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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D - Vt.) railed today against fellow Democrat - Jay Rockefeller (D - W.V.) for, as he put it, "caving" to the wishes of President Bush. This followed an announcement this morning that senators on both sides of the aisle had reached an agreement with Mr. Bush on substitute language for amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
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Congress is poised to pass a bill that could bury dozens of lawsuits over the Bush administration's warrantless spying, hiding them behind the closed doors of an intelligence court in Washington D.C. By Ryan Singel.
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U.S. President George Bush called on Congress Monday night to broaden&#160;protection for telecommunications carriers&#160;that helped the government monitor phone calls and e-mail.The Protect America Act, which allows the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to intercept phone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists without first obtaining a court warrant, is due to expire Friday and Bush called for its extension as part of his final State of the Union address.&quot;To protect America, we need to know who the terrorists are talking to, what they are saying, and what they are planning,&quot; he said in the televised address. &quot;Last year, Congress passed legislation to help us do that. Unfortunately, Congress set the legislation to expire on Feb.1. This means that if you do not act by Friday, our ability to track terrorist threats would be weakened and our citizens will be in greater danger. Congress must ensure the flow of vital intelligence is not disrupted.&quot;Failure to extend the legislation won&#39;t just hit the NSA. The telecommunications carriers that worked with the agency despite the lack of court warrants also face privacy lawsuits and an extension to the legislation would provide them legal protection. Bush touched on that point as well.&quot;Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America. We&#39;ve had ample time for debate. The time to act is now,&quot; said Bush to applause from mostly Republican members of the audience. Vice President Dick Cheney, seated behind Bush, also applauded the call.Cheney and the White House last week pushed Congress to extend the act and provide protection for telecom carriers. AT&amp;T and other carriers are facing lawsuits in San Francisco by civil liberties groups and individuals who allege that the surveillance program is illegal.Earlier Monday, efforts by Republicans to curtail debate in the U.S. Senate and force a vote on an extension to the act failed, and debate is due to resume Tuesday.&#160;
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(InfoWorld) - U.S. lawmakers promised to push ahead legislation aimed at cracking down on pretexting despite some objections from telecom carriers and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nearly all the members of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee pledged to push the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act, which would give the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority to file lawsuits against pretexters and the people who hire them. The bill would also require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to draw up new rules for telecom carriers to protect private phone records, and it would prevent carriers from sharing customer information with third parties without permission. Despite some concerns about the bill, lawmakers said consumers need protection against pretexting, the practice of posing as a telecom customer to obtain phone records and other private information. "Someone with bad intentions and a few bucks can get a hold of almost anybody's cell phone records," said Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican. President George Bush signed a bill creating criminal penalties for pretexting in January. But proponents of the Prevention of Fraudulent Access to Phone Records Act say the extra protections in the bill are also needed. The Energy and Commerce Committee approved the same bill during the last session of Congress, but the legislation apparently was held up on the House floor because of concerns from federal law enforcement agencies that the bill could slow efforts to get information on terrorism suspects. Lawmakers from both parties complained that they received little explanation about why the bill died last year. Thomas Navin, chief of the FCC's Wireline Bureau, said the Department of Justice was concerned that the FCC would set up rules that consumers are notified too soon after their phone records were accessed by someone else. The DOJ wanted a delay of seven days before consumers were notified, he said. But Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said consumers should be notified immediately. "I don't think the Department of Justice should be listened to on that issue," he said. "I think [victims] should be listened to on that issue." Markey pointed to news reports this week saying the FBI may have violated the law and its internal rules while collecting telephone, data, and other personal records through the Patriot Act. "There is still a lack of respect for the law of our country," he said. Beyond the law enforcement concerns, representatives of trade groups the United States Telecom Association and CTIA-The Wireless Association said the bill could prevent them from sharing customer information with third parties that market complementary products. CTIA members don't share customers' personal information with unrelated groups, but the carriers do use third-party vendors to market wireless-related products, said Steve Largent, CTIA's president and CEO. But Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, questioned industry concerns about language in the bill that could require carriers to get opt-in permission from customers to share their personal data. "It seems if we want to protect privacy, we should change this from opt out to opt in," he said.
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A U.S. Senate committee approved a bipartisan bill to tighten rules on government eavesdropping on terrorism suspects, but a Democratic presidential candidate said on Thursday he would try to block it.
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President George W. Bush's demand for immunity for telephone companies that participated in his warrantless domestic spying program won a test vote on Monday in the Democratic-led U.S. Senate.
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President Bush asked Congress to extend Protect America Act, broaden protection for telecoms that cooperate with the government.
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Following an appeal from President George W. Bush on Monday, the U.S. Congress has granted a temporary extension to a controversial law that allows the government to conduct telephone surveillance on suspected terrorists.On Tuesday Congress voted to extend for 15 days The Protect America Act, which allows the U.S. National Security Agency to intercept phone calls and e-mail of suspected terrorists without first obtaining a court warrant. The act was due to expire Friday, but Bush called for its extension Monday during his final State of the Union address.The debate to extend the act was led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat. His efforts to extend the act for 30 days began Monday; by late Tuesday, Congress decided on a 15-day extension by a voice vote. Some Democratic lawmakers were in favor of only a temporary extension because they wanted time to consider a more permanent measure.Bush and some Republican lawmakers were hoping for longer extension of the act, which also provides legal protection for telecommunications carriers that are cooperating with the NSA. Without protection, the carriers face privacy lawsuits from those under surveillance.The Protect America Act has been surrounded by controversy since Bush signed it in August. Congress is expected to continue debating whether to renew the act or to give carriers immunity from legal proceedings -- or compromise on some combination of both -- during the 15-day extension period.
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Vice President asks Congress to extend law beyond Feb. 1, and to give immunity to telecom firms.
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President George W. Bush's demand for immunity for telephone companies that participated in his warrantless domestic spying program won an initial vote on Monday in the Senate.
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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators threatened on Monday to override the Federal Communications Commission if the agency votes to loosen media ownership restrictions at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
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In a setback for the White House, the Senate will not vote this month on whether to give legal protection to the phone carriers that helped with the N.S.A. eavesdropping program.
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Mr. Dodd goes to Washington, and wins. The Connecticut senator and Democratic presidential candidate threatens to filibuster a bill giving immunity to telecoms that helped the government spy on Americans, prompting it to be dropped until next year.
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President Bush and House Democrats traded angry words over whether to grant immunity to telecommunications companies provided private data without warrants after 9/11.
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The Bush administration is working to persuade Congress to pass legislation protecting companies who aid the N.S.A.âs warrantless eavesdropping program.
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The Senate yesterday approved a sweeping measure that would expand the government's clandestine surveillance powers, delivering a key victory to the White House by approving immunity from lawsuits for telecommunications companies that cooperated with intelligence agencies in domestic spying after...
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A bill backed by President George W.   Bush to enable a court review of his domestic spying program   won the approval on Wednesday of a U.S. Senate panel under   election-year pressure to safeguard civil liberties.