ACLU urges rejection of wiretap liability protection

The nation’s top civil liberties group urged lawmakers to reject a new Bush administration proposal that would give liability protection to wireless carriers and other telecom service providers that work with national security officials under a relaxed domestic wiretapping regime.
“Like the sly fox guarding the henhouse, the Justice Department is selling this new bill as a better way to protect our privacy and civil liberties. Lawmakers should reject such false advertising. FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) has been constantly violated since President Bush authorized warrantless wiretapping and data mining of Americans by the National Security Agency in 2001,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU’s Washington legislative office.
Telecom carriers have found themselves caught up in lawsuits in connection with the administration’s anti-terrorism domestic eavesdropping program.
“Congress shouldn’t reward a president who continuously disregards the rule of law. FISA has already been amended numerous times. It doesn’t need to be ‘modernized,’ it needs to be followed,” said Frederickson.