Fergie's Tech Blog

Senate Dems Reportedly Agree To Immunize Spying Telecoms

Ryan Singel writes on Threat Level:

Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee will include retroactive legal protections for telecoms that helped with the government's secret surveillance programs after the administration handed over some of the legal documents about the program that the Congress has been asking for, according to the Washington Post.

The deal worked out with the administration at the same time that House Republicans ran procedural circles around the majority party, who was forced to remove their FISA reform bill from the House calendar. The House hoped to move in time to send a message to the Senate.

The deal reportedly would let the telecoms get out of the 50 or so suits pending against them for violating the nation's privacy laws, so long as they can show to a judge in secret that they were given a legal order to help the government.

posted by Fergie @ 10/18/2007 10:12:00 AM