*UPDATE* EFF Wins Fast-Track Release of Telecom Lobbying Records: Judge Cancels Friday Hearing, Orders Government to Comply by December 10
San Francisco - On Friday, November 30, at 9am, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will urge a federal judge to speed the release of lobbying records that could shed light on the congressional debate over granting amnesty for telecommunications companies taking part in illegal electronic surveillance.
In just a few days, the U.S. Senate will consider changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including proposals aimed at letting telecoms off the hook for their role in warrantless spying on millions of ordinary Americans. But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is dragging its feet on EFF's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to disclose information about telecom lobbying activity. In Friday's hearing, EFF will ask U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston to order ODNI to release this information while it could still impact the Senate vote.
EFF also represents the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class-action lawsuit brought by AT&T customers accusing the telecommunications company of violating their rights by illegally assisting the National Security Agency in domestic surveillance. The Hepting case is just one of many suits aimed at holding telecoms responsible for knowingly violating federal privacy laws with warrantless wiretapping and the illegal transfer of vast amounts of personal data to the government.
WHAT:
EFF v. ODNI
WHEN:
9 a.m.
Friday, November 30
WHERE:
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Courtroom 10, 19th Floor
450 Golden Gate Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102
For more on this FOIA lawsuit:
http://www.eff.org/issues/foia/cases/C-07-05278
For more on Hepting v. AT&T:
http://www.eff.org/nsa
Contact:
Rebecca Jeschke
Media Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
press@eff.org
