At 4.30pm today, Harry Reid announced on the floor of the Senate that, given the complexity and contentiousness of immunity (which he says he backs Dodd in opposing) the bill will not come up before the holidays.

A very wise decision. Thanks are due to Senator Dodd, grassroots support, and your own many calls and letters for emphasizing just how dangerous and outrageous step this would be for any politician seeking to preserve the Constitution. We're not there yet, though, so keep the pressure up: write to your representative and demand that immunity not rise again in 2008!

Related Issues

NSA Spying

Related Cases

Hepting v. AT&T

Related Updates

Deeplinks Blog by David Sobel | October 22, 2024

In Appreciation of David Burnham

We at EFF have long recognized the threats posed by the unchecked technological prowess of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Since our founding in 1990, we have been in the forefront of efforts to impose meaningful legal controls and accountability on the secretive activities of those entities, including the National...

Globe icon in bright colors
Deeplinks Blog by Corynne McSherry, Matthew Guariglia, Brendan Gilligan, Andrew Crocker | June 6, 2024

Security, Surveillance, and Government Overreach – the United States Set the Path but Canada Shouldn’t Follow It

The Canadian House of Commons is currently considering Bill C-26, which would make sweeping amendments to the country’s Telecommunications Act that would expand its Minister of Industry’s power over telecommunication service providers. It’s designed to accomplish a laudable and challenging goal: ensure that government and industry partners efficiently and...

Deeplinks Blog by Matthew Guariglia, Andrew Crocker, Cindy Cohn, Brendan Gilligan | April 22, 2024

U.S. Senate and Biden Administration Shamefully Renew and Expand FISA Section 702, Ushering in a Two Year Expansion of Unconstitutional Mass Surveillance

One week after it was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate has passed what Senator Ron Wyden has called, “one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history.” President Biden then rushed to sign it into law.
How to Fix the Internet - Ron Wyden - 'I Squared" Governance
Deeplinks Blog by Josh Richman | March 12, 2024

Podcast Episode: 'I Squared' Governance

Imagine a world in which the internet is first and foremost about empowering people, not big corporations and government. In that world, government does “after-action” analyses to make sure its tech regulations are working as intended, recruits experienced technologists as advisors, and enforces real accountability for intelligence and law enforcement...