Does everyone know but me? Comcast charges Gov't $1,000 for each illegal wiretap

Per RawStory



Did DU have a thread on this?

Wow. Just wow. Comcast making a huge bundle doing illegal business and WE are paying them to have our privacy invaded.


Edit: RawStory's article came out last Tuesday the 16th. How did we miss that?

:wow:

Millions times a thousand dollars a pop comes to a hell of a lot of dough.

Through the looking glass, the wall, the atmosphere . . .

wiretap me.

If they're checking up on us, they should give us a deep discount.

Baaaaastids.

No wonder they want immunity!

You've been given a $500.00 credit this month.

I guess it's true. The love of money is the root of all evil.

greatest category. Surprised you missed it.

During those times the Greatest Page is full of flame war recommended threads and I tend to skip it.

Well, at least it looks as if it is news to a few others so this thread isn't a total waste.

From the link it sounds as if the information is gathered under the NSL provision of the Patriot Act???

"The Comcast handbook says the company will comply with legal requests from federal, state and local authorities to monitor the communications of criminal suspects, and the company notes legal ambiguity surrounding some of the more controversial tools that have emerged since Sept. 11, 2001.

The manual says an FBI agent must hand deliver National Security Letters to Comcast's headquarters in Philadelphia.

"Upon receipt Comcast will handle all documents with the appropriate care and security as required by law," the handbook says. "Attention must be paid to the various court proceedings in which the legal status of such requests is at issue."


http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/index.html

"The National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act radically expanded the FBI's authority to demand personal records like Web site visits and e-mail addresses without prior court approval. The provision also allows the FBI to forbid or "gag" anyone who receives an NSL from telling anyone about the record demand.

Since the Patriot Act was authorized in 2001, further relaxing restrictions on the FBI's use of the power, the number of NSLs issued has seen an astronomical increase. Reports previously indicated a hundred-fold increase to 30,000 NSLs issued annually, but a March 2007 report from the Justice Department's Inspector General puts the actual number at over 143,000 NSLs issued between 2003 and 2005. The same investigation also found serious FBI abuses of regulations and numerous potential violations of the law."


http://www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/31580prs20070906.html

Federal Court Strikes Down National Security Letter Provision of Patriot Act (9/6/2007)

Our tax dollars at work. :grr:

They are the only cable provider in my area, but I have gone without cable and I chose Qwest for my internet. Qwest DSL is not nearly as fast as Comcast's service, but to know that I am with a company that shows respect for the Constitution means a lot to me and I would never switch to Comcast for that reason.

and here is the original source:

http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9797632-38.html


credit where credit is due to Declan McCullagh and the Federation of American Scientists.

that Comcast is complying with the current laws while making a nice profit.

:shrug:


"What's perhaps most interesting, though, is that the leaked handbook shows that Comcast seems to be trying to protect its customers' privacy. I didn't see anything in the document offering to divulge more information than the law permits. Instead, the company repeatedly stresses that police follow legal requirements, and even attaches the text of two federal privacy laws as appendixes.

Of course, those laws may be overly fed-friendly, especially when it comes to FISA requests, orders requiring companies not to delete records and national security letters. Blame federal police and a compliant Congress for that.

Comcast representative Sena Fitzmaurice confirmed on Monday that the handbook was legitimate. It was posted by the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy News.

It's worth noting that, in a survey CNET News.com conducted last year of Internet service providers, Comcast said "no" when asked: "Have you turned over information or opened up your networks to the National Security Agency without being compelled by law?"

Others, including AT&T, Cable & Wireless and Global Crossing, refused to answer the question."

Thanks for posting, If this was a novel, no one would believe the plot twists!

Double pepperoni actually means "I'm willing to help Bin Laden"

Extra Cheese means "Tomorrow I'll signing up to learn how to fly commercial jets into skyscrapers."

Anchovies but only on half: "I received the $ 100,000 payment from the Pakistani officials."

Bring some extra napkins and parmesan cheese packets: "When will I receive further orders?"

And . . . on my Yahoo site . . . weird "fuck friend" kind of spam will come in a few times a week --
??? What is that???