Mike Riddle wrote:
> AT&T, which isn't commenting on the suit, may have felt it had no
> choice but to comply with the NSA's requests. Federal law requires
> telephone companies to cooperate with law enforcement demands if they
> are supported by a court order or, in emergencies, certification from
> the U.S. attorney general that no court order is necessary. The
> surveillance program was almost certainly backed by just such a
> certification, and that could stop the lawsuit in its tracks.
The above is a very important point. If true, it means that EFF
wasted the time and money of AT&T and hurt its own credibility.
> Ideally, the lawsuit will stop AT&T from cooperating in the NSA
> program, or at least prod it to put up more resistance.
I object to that approach. If the government is doing something
wrong, focus on the government; don't harass a private organization
that may not have a choice in the matter.
On principle, I object to lawsuits such as this because they are a
backhanded way of creating social policy outside of the normal
democratic means. Right now Congress is taking a hard look at this
particular situation (this morning's paper had a front page headline
on it), which is how it is supposed to work.
> More practically, the lawsuit may also reveal how the spying program
> works and what types of information it collects. But the
> administration views such details as sensitive national security
> secrets, and it is likely the government will try to have the lawsuit
> thrown out before any such disclosures are made.
Spying on enemy communications is a critical method of defense and
must be kept secret, lest the enemy learn and change its codes.
> In the mid-1970s, the late Sen. Frank Church, an Idaho Democrat, led a
> Senate investigation into domestic spying and other abuses of power by
> the NSA and federal agencies.
As a result of those hearings laws were passed limiting the FBI and
CIA and information sharing. IMHO, these restrictions may have
contributed to 9/11; perhaps there would've been better tracking of
potential terrorists within the U.S.
I also believe some of the domestic spying work of the 1960s and 1970s
was justified because of efforts by some groups to disrupt and attack
domestic targets in those years.
Lisa Hancock (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com)