Slashdot Mirror
House of Representatives To Discuss Wiretapping In Closed Session
Nimey brings word that for the first time in 25 years, the US House of Representatives will use a closed-door session to discuss proposed wiretapping legislation. The old legislation expired last month when government officials could not agree on retroactive immunity for the telecommunications providers who assisted with the wiretaps. The most recent version of the bill, proposed by House democrats, does not include telecom immunity. Because of that, President Bush has stated his willingness to veto the bill. The Yahoo article notes, "The closed-door debate was scheduled for late Thursday night, after the House chamber could be cleared and swept by security personnel to make sure there are no listening devices."
Slashdot pedants: they're like really clever, man - it's all "my linguistic dick is bigger than thine, and I can look up shit on the Internet."
Nothing ironic in my statement - pure sarcasm needs no irony, merely a scathing contradiction expressed negatively.
Oh, and I'm old enough not to need dictionaries any more :P
One swallow does not a fellatrix make
That makes no sense at all, and is contrary to the discussion. The question is whether the companies can be sued. They already have immunity from criminal prosecution, the same as you do when you comply with a police investigation. They cannot be compelled to cooperate; the proposal is that they be held harmless from civil litigation if they do cooperate. If you cooperate with a police investigation and someone sues you because of it, do you want to pay a lawyer to defend you?
sigs, as if you care.