EFF: Justice Department Withholds Records of Stealth Campaign to Block Surveillance Suits

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 27, 2007

Contact:

Marcia Hofmann
   Staff Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   marcia@eff.org
   +1 202 797-9009 x106

Kurt Opsahl
   Senior Staff Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   kurt@eff.org
   +1 415 436-9333 x106

David Sobel
   Senior Counsel
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   sobel@eff.org
   +1 202 797-9009 x104

Justice Department Withholds Records of Stealth Campaign to
Block Surveillance Suits

EFF Lawsuit Demands Information About Telecom Industry
Lobbying

Washington, D.C. - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
filed suit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) today,
demanding any records of a telecom industry lobbying
campaign to block lawsuits over their compliance with
illegal electronic surveillance.  EFF's lawsuit comes as
Congress debates letting telecommunications companies off
scot-free as part of the hotly disputed "modernization" of
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

EFF 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.

The government has intervened and moved for dismissal of
many of these lawsuits.  The DOJ has also pushed for
changes to federal law that would ensure the telecoms are
not held responsible for their role in the warrantless
surveillance.  Meanwhile, the DOJ has not responded to
EFF's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to
disclose records concerning any lobbying activities
regarding potential immunity for the telecom industry.

"The White House is publicly calling for immunity for the
telecoms, while a recent Newsweek article detailed a
'secretive lobbying campaign' to block the lawsuits," said
EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann.  "If there are backroom
deals going on at the Department of Justice, then Americans
need to know about them now, before Congress passes any law
that gets the telecom companies off the hook."

The Department of Justice has already agreed that the
records should be disclosed quickly because of the urgent
need to inform the public about these issues. However,
despite this recognition, DOJ has neither processed the
FOIA requests nor told EFF when the documents might be
released.  EFF's suit asks for the immediate disclosure of
the telecom lobbying records, including any documents
concerning briefings, discussions, or other contacts DOJ
officials have had with representatives of
telecommunications companies.  The suit also asks for
records of contact between the DOJ and members of Congress
about telecom immunity.

"Our lawsuit and others allege serious privacy law
violations that impact millions of ordinary Americans,"
said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl.  "If the
telecoms are seeking amnesty for their illegal activity,
Americans deserve to know why and how lobbyists pressured
the DOJ."

For the full complaint:
http://www.eff.org/flag/fisa_lobbying/092707_complaint.pdf

For more on our FOIA work:
http://www.eff.org/flag/

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_09.php#005463

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/


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