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Senate

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Senate High-Fives Phone Companies for Spying on Americans

In a historic vote this afternoon, the Senate voted to amend the Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA) to expand the government's surveillance capabilities and provide retroactive immunity for phone companies who participated in the Bush administration's illegal wiretapping program. The margin of victory was wide, with 69 old people voting for and only 28 old people voting against the measure. The good news is that to register your concern about the bill all you have to do is pick up your phone and start talking. [NYT]

spying

House Denies Warrantless Wiretapping Immunity For Telcos

In a textbook display of checks and balances, the House of Representatives defied President Bush and the Senate yesterday by passing their version of a surveillance bill without legal immunity for telcos. The bill passed by only 16 votes, far from the 2/3 majority needed to override Bush's inevitable veto. It looks like this legislative battle could continue until the next president takes office in 2009. As we have seen, an Obama administration would deny immunity, McCain would grant immunity, and Clinton? Who knows. [dslreports]


gadgets

Last Chance to Save Our Privacy Rights from Warrantless Domestic Spying

While the Senate passed the bill giving telecoms like AT&T and Verizon a free pass on their collusion with government to warrentlessly wiretap American citizens, there's one last hope we might one day find out the scope and depth of the program. The House's version of the bill does not include a telecom immunity provision, meaning they have to square it up w/ the Senate before sending it off for Bush's rubber stamp, and a bunch of Reps are taking a stand. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has forms and contact info set up for people to sound off to their respective Reps to support the House's version and our privacy rights. [EFF, Image via Digital Blasphemy]

spying

Senate Gives Telcos Free Pass On Warrantless Domestic Spying Program

Joel at BBG writes in five precise words what it means that the Senate has just granted retroactive immunity to telcos (AT&T, Verizon and others) for participating in the government's warrantless wiretapping program that spied on American citizens: "We Lost. The Telcos Won." More »

at&t

Senate Set to Give Retroactive Immunity to AT&T and Other Telcos for Warrantless Wiretapping Program

Should AT&T and the other telcos involved (like Verizon) get a total pass for participating in the NSA's domestic wiretapping program that let the government eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant? The Senate's thisclose to giving them immunity from lawsuits like the one the Electronic Freedom Foundation's filed against AT&T and others. More »

The House has agreed 402-0 to the Senate's version of the net access tax ban, so the bill heading President Bush's way runs to 2014. Hooray. [CNET]

cellphones

Senators Rabble-Rousing for Mobile Bill of Rights

It looks like Verizon and AT&T's recent "Hey, we're not total assholes" moves might've been to preempt such "fairness" from getting some legal teeth, as a bunch of rowdy Senators are looking to make the mobile industry play just a bit nicer with a mobile bill of rights for consumers. More »

for the children

Super V-Chip Aims to Block Content on Everything, Will Probably Fail

The Senate Commerce Committee has approved legislation that would enjoin the FCC to oversee the development of a "super V-chip" that would block content on cellphones, TVs, the internet—anywhere tender young eyes could land upon "inappropriate" content. Unfortunately for its proponents, the Child Safe Viewing Act's initiative will probably bomb even harder than the 1996 Telecommunications Act's V-chip provision—sure there's a V-chip in all of our TVs, but who actually uses them? Hell, when was the last time you even thought about it until just now? More »

unfunded mandates

Senate Bill Could Compel "Top 25 Piracy Schools" to Use Anti-P2P Technology

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (pictured) has a fun summer vacation souvenir for institutes of higher education: His latest amendment to the Higher Education Reauthorization Act would require a college named to the list of "top 25" worst file-sharing schools to implement anti-p2p technology into its network, or risk losing some of its governmental funding. (Ohio University, natch.) More »