CDT urges changes to wiretapping legislation

CDT URGES CHANGES TO WIRETAPPING LEGISLATION
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has urged the U.S. Congress to make changes to a bill that would extend a controversial wiretapping program. CDT, a group that focuses on online civil liberties, called for the U.S. Senate to pass a substitute to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act, likely to be debated on the Senate floor later this week. The legislation, as approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee, would reauthorize warrantless wiretapping of some U.S. residents' telephone and electronic communications in the name of protecting the U.S. against terrorists. One of the most controversial provisions would give telecom carriers immunity from civil lawsuit judgements for assisting the government wiretapping efforts, but CDT officials said Tuesday that there are other important debates raised by the legislation, including the role of the U.S. FISA court in overseeing the wiretapping program. The Senate Intelligence Committee version of the bill, which was put together with help from President George Bush's administration, offers "no meaningful protection" to U.S. residents and limits the involvement of the FISA court in approving wiretapping, CDT said. Several civil liberties groups have called the wiretapping program illegal because it spies on U.S. residents communicating with oversees suspects without court approval.
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