New "JUSTICE" Act Could Roll Back Telecom Immunity

Asmodae writes to tell us about a bill proposed in Congress that could roll back telecom retroactive immunity along with adding other privacy safeguards. The "Judicious Use of Surveillance Tools in Counter-Terrorism Efforts" (JUSTICE) Act advocates the "least intrusive means" of information collection and imposes many limitations on the process. "One of the most significant aspects of the JUSTICE Act is that it will remove the retroactive immunity grants that were given to the telecom companies that participated in the NSA warrantless surveillance program. The companies that cooperated with the surveillance program likely violated several laws, including section 222 of the Communications Act, which prohibits disclosure of network customer information. The immunity grants have prevented the telecommunications companies that voluntarily participated in this program from being held accountable in court."

Comments

Re:Cue the flying monkey right in...

[MightyMartian]

The United States is supposedly a nation ruled by law. In a nation ruled by law, not even the government has the right to order you to break the law, and in such a nation, the government cannot possibly make a meaningful commitment to protect you as part of the bargain.

In short, the Telecoms and the CIA shouldn't have broken the law, not even for the President (who is not above the law either), and in doing so, no matter how strident the declarations of immunity, they put their necks out. If a future administration decides, for good or ill, to rescind any guarantees, you're are, as they say, up shit creek.