Verizon, Gov't Seek Dismissal of Data-Mining Suit on Free Speech, Secrecy Grounds
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Claiming national security concerns, and backed by Justice Department special counsel, the phone provider argues in federal court that a lawsuit against it for ponying up millions of phone records for a secret government data-mining program should be dismissed. Ryan Singel reports from the courthouse.
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Pretexting rebuffed In a victory for privacy advocates, a federal judge has ordered a US company to pay almost $200,000 and barred it from selling the phone records of individuals' phone records without their permission.â¦
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Verizon Wireless VZ.N sued 20   unnamed data brokers for fraudulently obtaining private   telephone records belonging to Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N   board members and journalists as part of an HP investigation   into boardroom leaks.
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Documents at the heart of a lawsuit against AT&T for allegedly helping the NSA spy on Americans have been unsealed.  The documents include wiring diagrams previously published by Wired News and a unseen analysis by an internet expert.
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Deleted messages from some senior executives are sought as evidence in AMD's antitrust suit.
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A U.S. district court has dismissed an antitrust suit brought by microchip maker Broadcom Corp. against Qualcomm Inc., although Broadcom said it would continue to pursue the case.
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A federal judge has dismissed a New York Times lawsuit against the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, saying classified documents the newspaper was seeking under the Freedom of Information Act were properly withheld.
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A proposed law would require companies to keep detailed data about peopleâs Internet and phone use.
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The Supreme Court has denied a challenge to the federal Do Not Call List. Telemarketing companies had filed an appeal, saying the registry violated First Amendment rights because some groups were exempt from the rules.
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Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Qwest Communications International Inc. (QN: Quote, Profile, Research) asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to block
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The New York Times revealed Saturday that Google was the unidentified party mentioned in a US Dept. of Justice status report last March as having lodged a "middleware-related complaint" against Microsoft.  In addition, a memo by a key antitrust enforcement official that the Times also turned up, rejecting Google's arguments and advising states' prosecutors to reject them as well.
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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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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to make two Florida companies stop telephone pretexting and to pay back victims of the practice.
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Verizon Wireless sued 20 unnamed data brokers for fraudulently obtaining private telephone records belonging to Hewlett-Packard Co. board members and journalists as part of an HP investigation into boardroom leaks
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The federal judge handling lawsuits against the nation's telecoms rules the companies have to answer spying allegations. But the real point is to force the feds to show their cards. In 27B Stroke 6.
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After FoI request denied by FBI A privacy group is suing the US Government for information about surveillance programmes after the FBI failed to respond to a freedom of information request.â¦
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Net phone company says it didn't copy Verizon's patents, but the telecommunications giant says harm has been done and its VoIP rival must pay.