Groups Oppose Telecom Immunity

GROUPS OPPOSE TELECOM IMMUNITY
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Corey Boles corey.boles@dowjones.com and John Godfrey]
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Brennan Center for Justice urged lawmakers not to pursue a compromise solution that would offer phone companies immunity from their alleged participation in the U.S. government's warrantless-wiretapping program. The proposed solution would allow court cases over the issue against phone companies, including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., to proceed. However, the phone companies would be exempted from having to pay financial penalties. The civil-liberties groups said the compromise would allow the phone companies to think their alleged participation in the program had no consequences. The telecommunications sector could face potentially hefty costs fighting the litigation. The civil-liberties groups have been opposed to the idea that phone companies should receive immunity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119431385009683418.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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