Senate to Debate Telecom Firms' Immunity in Surveillance Role

SENATE TO DEBATE TELECOM FIRMS' IMMUNITY IN SURVEILLANCE ROLE
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dan Eggen]
A battle over legal immunity for telecommunication companies that participated in a controversial Bush administration counterterrorism surveillance program landed on the Senate floor yesterday, after the Judiciary Committee voted to preserve protections for companies who help the government. The outcome in the Senate represents a procedural defeat for lawmakers and outside groups that opposed giving the companies immunity from lawsuits alleging privacy violations, but it leaves open the possibility of a bruising floor fight on the provision. The Senate Intelligence Committee, with support from key Democrats and approval from the administration, has passed a proposal that includes retroactive legal immunity. During a tumultuous day-long meeting yesterday, the Judiciary panel, which had the Intelligence bill before it, voted 10 to 9 along party lines to approve a bill that added new restrictions on government surveillance powers. But this did not include language addressing the immunity issue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/15/AR200711...
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* Panel Drops Immunity From Eavesdropping Bill
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/16/washington/16nsa.html?ref=todayspaper

* House votes to strengthen oversight of surveillance; no immunity for telecoms
The House voted Thursday night to strengthen court oversight of the government's surveillance of terrorist suspects but stopped short of providing legal immunity to telecommunication companies that helped eavesdrop on Americans. The Democratic bill, approved 227-189, was a rebuke to President Bush, who has promised to veto any legislation that does not shield telecom companies from civil lawsuits. About 40 civil suits have been filed alleging the companies broke wiretapping and privacy lawsuits for monitoring phone calls and e-mails without permission of a secret court created 30 years ago for that purpose. President Bush argues that such lawsuits could bankrupt the telecoms, reveal classified information and discourage cooperation with legal surveillance requests.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/latestheadlines/ci_7478947

* Under House bill, companies could face surveillance suits
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20071116/a_fisa16.art.htm

* NSA telecom immunity still unsettled in Senate
http://www.news.com/NSA-telecom-immunity-still-unsettled-in-Senate/2100-...

* Congress Keeps Telecoms on the Hook for Illegal Spying
"We are pleased that the House and a majority of the Judiciary Committee's members have signaled that they want Americans to have their day in court," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "The fight isn't over yet, however. We look forward to working with Senators Leahy, Specter, and Feingold and other lawmakers in both chambers of Congress to make sure that the bill eventually sent to the president allows the people's lawsuits to go forward."
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2007/11/15-0