On Thursday June 19, 2008, leaders of Congress and the White House reached an agreement to approved telco amnesty, legalize and then expand President Bush’s Secret Spy Program. All citizens should know that when the bill is enacted, your email, website, phone calls and any other digital communication will be unprotected.

Who will have access to this information and for what purposes?  How will it be protected?  How long will it be until this sweeping new power is abused?  What precedent does giving immunity to corporations who collaborated with illegal government activities set?  After all, I stick to my cell phone agreement.  Shouldn’t they?

With legal action pending against major telecommunications companies, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said courts will make the call but predicted, “The lawsuits will be dismissed.” FERRARO, Thomas (2008), Spy bill to shield phone companies from lawsuits, Reuters, [19 June 2008]

“I think the White House got a better deal than even they had hoped to get,” said Senator Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri, who led the negotiations. LICHBLAU, Eric (2008), Deal Is Struck to Overhaul Wiretap Law, The New York Times, [20 June 2008]

Tags: 19 june, amnesty, FINALIZED, Gov, illegal government, Image, immunity, Net Neutrality & Stats, Partner, precedent, ScherrTech.com, spy bill, spy program, telco, telecommunications companies, Website, wiretap law

On Tuesday February 12, 2008 the Senate approved telco amnesty, legalized and then expanded President Bush’s Secret Spy Program. When the bill is enacted, your email, website, phone calls and any other digital communication will be unprotected.

Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut have argued that the plan effectively rewarded phone companies by providing them with legal insulation for actions that violated longstanding law and their own privacy obligations to their customers. “This is a dramatic restructuring” of surveillance law, said Michael Sussmann, a former Justice Department intelligence lawyer who represents several telecommunication companies. “And the thing that’s so dramatic about this is that you’ve removed the court review. There may be some checks after the fact, but the administration is picking the targets.” LICHBLAU, Eric (2008), Bush Presses House to Approve Bill on Surveillance, The New York Times, [13 Feb 2008]

Considering the severity of this news and its impact on our civil liberties, I took the time to review how this story of critical importance has been reported on by some of the major news organizations. What I found was surprising. Only two news sources had mention of this article on their homepage using a headline that accurately reflects the event. Five sources had misleading headlines, Reuters even titled their article “Bush opposes temporary extension of spy program” and then proceeded report how the bill passed the Senate. Eight news sources had no mention whatsoever of the story. List below.

New York Times – “Senate Vows to Expand Spy Powers”
Wired – “Senate Approves Telecom Amnesty, Widens Spying”

Reuters – “Bush opposes temporary extension of spy program”
BBC News – “Bush warns Congress on wiretaps”
USA Today – “Bush prods House on surveillance”
AOL News – “Bush Presses House on Surveillance Bill”
Yahoo News – “Bush presses House on surveillance Bill”

Washington Post – No Mention
Fox News – No Mention
CBS News – No Mention
Chicago Tribune – No Mention
CNN – No Mention
MSNBC – No Mention
New York Post – No Mention
Bloomberg – No Mention

Meanwhile, on nearly every news source mentioned above the lead story was…

Clemens and McNamee battle over steroid use.

Tags: Christopher J. Dodd, civil liberties, critical importance, digital communication, fact, Image, law, major news, misleading headlines, Net Neutrality & Stats, plan, Press, restructuring, Roger Clemens Vs, russ feingold, ScherrTech.com, Secret, spy program, surveillance, surveillance bill, telecommunication companies, Website, wiretaps, Yahoo