Give the
ACLU Credit. Not content to simply file in federal court, the ACLU has opened new fronts on the war against illegal wiretapping and "strip mining" of US telephones.
ACLU Files Lawsuit in California Court Demanding End to Privacy Violations by AT&T and Verizon
SAN FRANCISCO - The California affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union today filed two lawsuits in state court requesting injunctions against telecommunications giants AT&T and Verizon to prevent them from illegally providing the National Security Agency with the personal phone records of millions of California customers.
More below the fold ...
Given that the administration has already attempted to employ the "state secrets" argument to
quash the lawsuit filed by the
Electronic Freedom Foundation aimed at the NSA and Telco's in federal court, the ACLU has taken near simultaneous action in multiple venues:
ACLU Launches Nationwide Action Against NSA Snooping on Americans' Phone Calls
ACLU affiliates in 20 states today filed complaints with Public Utility Commissions or sent letters to state Attorneys General and other officials demanding investigations into whether local telecommunications companies allowed the NSA to spy on their customers.
The ACLU is running fullpage ads in these states urging citizens to file complaints with state and local regulatory agencies.
And the ACLU hasn't given up with tasking the FCC to fulfill its regulatory responsibilty:
Tell the Federal Communications Commission to Get the Spies Off the Line:
It's illegal and un-American for your phone company to hand your call records to the government without a warrant. But that's just what they're doing, violating the privacy and rights of millions of innocent Americans in the process.
The FCC has the authority and the obligation to investigate the NSA spying scandal, despite their wrong-headed refusal to act. Add your name to the public record and support our formal demand using the form below. If you live in a state where we are filing a complaint with local regulators, we will also add your name to our local demand for action.
We tend to forget that we aren't powerless in the face of the Administration's breathtaking violation of the law and privacy rights. We do have the right, and the responsibility, to take individual action:
1. Contact your federal Representative and Senators.
2. Contact your state representative(s).
3. Write op-ed letters to your local news outlets. Extra points for quoting Jefferson or Madison.
4. Vote your pocketbook. If you can't live without AT&T in your local calling area, do you "need" the extras?
5. Open your pocketbook. Contribute to the ACLU or Electronic Freedom Foundation.
6. Contact television network ombudsman and ask for balanced coverage, i.e. they shouldn't give the Administration a "pass" on violating FISA.
7. Write your state regulatory agency. Don't be shy, these folks are usually pretty lonely. They'd love to hear from you.
8. Add your name to the ACLU filing with the FCC. Don't worry, the folks at NSA already know your name.
9. The primaries are coming, the primaries are coming.
10. Vote.