Here’s Why We MUST Have Ron Paul!
Judge for yourselves (and then CALL AS MANY LAWMAKERS AS POSSIBLE, TO PROTEST LOUDLY!):
“…The Senate bill overrides every other law, including state laws, criminal laws and privacy laws…”
Read the full article: http://www.news.com/NSA-cooperation-OK-for-e-mail,-IM-companies/2100-7348_3-6214609.html?tag=nefd.lede
NSA Cooperation: OK for e-mail, IM companies?
By Declan McCullagh and Anne BroacheA new Senate bill would protect not only telephone companies from lawsuits claiming illegal cooperation with the National Security Agency. It would retroactively immunize e-mail providers, search engines, Internet service providers and instant-messaging services too.
The broad language appears in new legislation that a Senate committee approved by a 13-to-2 vote on Thursday during a meeting closed to the press and public. It enjoys the support of the panel’s Democrats and Republicans.
It goes further in crafting an impenetrable legal shield than similar proposals in the House of Representatives, such as the so-called Restore Act (PDF), which immunizes only “communications service providers.” Bowing to pressure from President Bush, House Democrats postponed a vote on the Restore Act last week.
The broader Senate bill (PDF) would sweep in Web sites, e-mail providers and more. “My suspicion is the scope of the immunity provision is the most revealing way to assess the scope of the underlying authority,” said Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
The disparity is striking because telecommunications companies–not major providers of Web-based services like Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft–have been frequently named as complicit in illegal NSA surveillance. Yet under the Senate proposal, those companies would become immune from any lawsuits.
“Private companies who received legal assurances from the highest levels of government should not be dragged through the courts for their help with national security,” Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.V.), the Intelligence Committee chairman and the bill’s primary Democratic sponsor, said in a statement. “The onus is on the administration, not the companies, to ensure that the request is on strong legal footing, and if it is not, it is the administration that should be held accountable.”
A demand for retroactive immunity
After news reports said AT&T and other major telecommunications carriers opened their networks to the NSA after September 11, 2001, dozens of civil lawsuits were filed. A decision on whether the lawsuits will be permitted to proceed is expected from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco at any time.
President Bush has insisted on retroactive legal immunity, and the Justice Department on Friday gave the Senate bill a preliminary thumbs-up, though it said further changes will likely be necessary before it’s satisfied.
“The bill has many good components, and we appreciate the serious work done on this bill in the Senate Intelligence Committee,” spokesman Dean Boyd said. “We appreciate that the bill has strong liability provisions.”
The Senate bill overrides every other law, including state laws, criminal laws and privacy laws . . .
