By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer
December 17, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Senate is expected to decide this week whether
to shield from civil lawsuits telecommunications companies
that helped the government eavesdrop on Americans.
The Senate is grappling with an update to the 1978 Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act, the law that dictates when federal
agents much obtain court permission before tapping phone and
computer lines inside the United States to gather intelligence
on foreign threats. It may tap lines without court permission
outside the country.
The central question before the Senate is what to do with
telecommunications companies that helped the government tap
American communications after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks. The surveillance was done without permission from
the secret court created 30 years ago to protect Americans
from unwarranted government intrusions on their privacy.
There are about 40 civil lawsuits pending against the companies,
alleging violations of communications and wiretapping laws.
The White House says if the cases go forward they could reveal
information that would compromise national security. If they
succeed, the companies could be bankrupted.
"For the last six years, our largest telecom companies
have been spying on their own American customers," said
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who unsuccessfully tried to
block the bill from coming to the floor Monday.
The White House threatened Monday to veto any bill that does
not contain a retroactive immunity provision. The Senate Intelligence
Committee's version of the bill provides it; a competing version
from the Judiciary Committee does not.
Multiple efforts were under way Monday to craft alternative
immunity provisions. Among the potential amendments is one
by Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who wants the U.S. government
to stand in for telecommunications companies as the defendant
in the cases. The Senate Judiciary Committee declined to put
such a provision in its version of the bill. Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
D-Calif., also was working on an immunity amendment.
The new surveillance bill would replace a temporary eavesdropping
law Congress hastily passed in August. That law, which expanded
the government's authority to listen in on American communications
without court permission, expires Feb. 1.
The White House wants a permanent rewrite of FISA, contending
that changes in telecommunications technology have made the
law an obstacle to intelligence-gathering. FISA requires the
government to obtain court approval before conducting electronic
surveillance on U.S. soil, even if the target is a foreign
citizen in a foreign country. However, many purely international
communications are now routed through fiber-optic cables and
computers in the U.S.
The White House wants authority to monitor foreign communications
involving Americans without first getting court approval, as
long as the American is not the intended target of surveillance.
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