Verizon and BellSouth: Signal-To-Noise Ratio

Signal-to-Noise RatioThe prospect of a $200 billion class action lawsuit has the effect of clearing the mind and clouding the facts. After the initial shock of the USA Today report on collection of domestic phone records by the NSA wore off the accused phone companies have now circled the wagons. Verizon and BellSouth have both issued statements denying involvement in the phone records gathering program.

After a week of bobbing and weaving by the Administration and its surrogates, the phone company denials need to be scrutinized carefully. First the President made a hastily organized public statement the morning after the USA Today report was released claiming NSA activities were lawful without confirming the program. Then Administration surrogate Richard Falkenrath delivered a fantastical and deeply flawed defense of the NSA program in a Washington Post opinion piece. Over the weekend Senator Frist went on national television and confirmed the existence of the NSA program before realizing his mistake and trying to back away from it.  Yesterday the President appeared with Australian Prime Minister John Howard in a joint news conference and appeared to confirm the existence of the program. Later White House spokesman Tony Snow denied the President had confirmed the existence of the program. In doing so, Snow bizarrely noted that a Washington Post poll showed that the majority of Americans approved of the program (the existence of which of course he could not confirm or deny). Finally, the often-confused Senator Orrin Hatch stated yesterday that two FISA judges had been briefed on the program but had not necessarily approved the program. Again, a spokesman for Hatch had to later clarify that the Senator had not meant to confirm the existence of the program.

With the waters muddied by the Administration, BellSouth announced in its statement:

As a result of media reports that BellSouth provided massive amounts of customer calling information under a contract with the NSA, the Company conducted an internal review to determine the facts. Based on our review to date, we have confirmed no such contract exists and we have not provided bulk customer calling records to the NSA. [Emphasis added by me.]

Verizon announced firmly in its statement:

Contrary to the media reports, Verizon was not asked by NSA to provide, nor did Verizon provide, customer phone records from any of these businesses, or any call data from those records. None of these companies – wireless or wireline – provided customer records or call data. [Emphasis added by me.]

The key to interpreting these denials are the words "provide" and "phone records". Verizon and BellSouth both are denying that they did not provide phone records to the NSA. BellSouth cuts this even finer by saying they did not provide bulk phone records. They do not however deny that they may have allowed the NSA to tap into their phone traffic and gather the phone data real time. This is a very crucial distinction from the phone companies’ point of view. By not providing the NSA stored call data, the phone companies are not in violation of the Stored Communications Act. However, if the NSA is collecting the data real-time from taps on the phone traffic the Government would be in violation of the "pen register" and "trap and trace device" statutes. It is not clear if by simply allowing the NSA to tap into their traffic whether the phone companies are in violation of the Telecommunications Act and the resulting $1000 per violation penalty.

Verizon and BellSouth’s narrow denials may be designed to muddy the waters and protect the companies from the massive class action suits against them. The phone companies may also be depending on the Government to intervene on their behalf in the lawsuits on national security grounds. In the meantime, the denials from the phone companies and the lack of confirmation from the Administration may sufficiently cloud the issue so that the facts of the NSA program will be obscured from the general public. The phone companies need to be challenged on their denials. Specific questions need to be asked about the nature of their transactions with the NSA and whether they are allowing the NSA to tap into their phone traffic. This is the time for reporters to aggressively follow up on the USA Today story. Nothing less then the civil liberties of the American people is at stake.

 

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11 Responses to Verizon and BellSouth: Signal-To-Noise Ratio

  1. Libby Sosume says:

    They need to be dragged in front of a Congressional committee and questioned under oath.

  2. Ingrid says:

    I liked that part of Orrin Hatch confirming something that he actually meant to unconfirm. Have you ever seen “Yes Minister” or the following “Yes Prime Minister”? British political satire that even Margaret Thatcher apparently loved. I often wish that there could be a very good American version of it, but not a watered down version that you see so often when you compare the original British with the copied, and not so funny American one. This whole saga would/could be a classic!
    Ingrid

  3. MrEMan says:

    Mash,

    Another great piece. I have to agree with Libby Sosume. The heads of the telcos need to be brought before congress and grilled till their fillings drop out. Under oath this time, unlike the hearings involving the oil crimes.

    Somebody’s lying here, and it’s not USA Today….

  4. Mash says:

    Ingrid, “Yes Minister” was hilarious. Orrin Hatch would fit right in to the cast. :-\

    I agree that a nice grilling under oath is in order, but I doubt Specter will follow through. He loves to put on a show of indignation and than always caves to the White House. I suppose we wont see any meaningful answers until November. ~o)

  5. PrchrLady says:

    Hey Mash, great post. And I agree also that Hatch will cave under the pressure. I have a lot of special peaves, but spying on us without warrant has to be one of my biggest ones. It all ties into the PNAC plan, I am afraid. Can we hang on until the dominoes all tumble? We must, and we will. November is a ways off, but perhaps Fitzmas will bring us some relief??? A great story over on Consortium today, on this related (sort of) topic. My other big peave is the outing of Valerie Plame. What a debacle this administration has made of both foreign and domestic affairs. Best to all. And Please God, give us some sunshine… Peace 🙂

  6. PrchrLady says:

    Sorry, forgot the link:”>:((

    http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/051706a.html

  7. Pingback: Serious Golmal » Blog Archive » Chattering in the Noise

  8. Mash says:

    PrchrLady, thanks for the link. The article was an interesting read. This notion of General Hayden as the “defender” of the Constitution against Dick Cheney is patently false. One need only look at his 2002 testimony in front of Congress to get his views.

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  10. Mash says:

    everydayactivist, your humor is in very poor taste. l-)

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