Inouye Objects to Republican Net Neutrality Efforts
MSNBC reported that the top Democrat on the US Senate Commerce Committee rejected a proposed compromise on access to high-speed Internet networks, the so-called Net Neutrality, and said that the effort to pass a broad telecommunications reform bill could fall apart. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii said that the revised Republican legislation did not go far enough to ensure that ISPs cannot discriminate against unaffiliated Web sites or services. Inouye also said the Democrats on the committee also were worried that the draft bill could help companies evade state consumer protection laws. The primary purpose of the legislation is to make sure that AT&T and Verizon Communications can get approval to provide TV services nationwide while avoiding local franchising approvals and rules. The vote on the issue could come as early as Thursday, but it is going to be touch and go for the legislation to get final approval before Congress recesses for elections in November.
AP: Law Enforcement Gathered Phone Records from Data Brokers
The Associated Press reported today that US Federal and local police across the country, as well as private companies, have gathered US citizens' phone records by using private data brokers in lieu of subpoenas or warrants. The brokers use questionable tactics to gather the data, including breaking into online customer accounts and tricking phone companies into revealing the information. Agencies using data brokers include the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DoJ) and municipal police in California, Florida, Georgia, and Utah. The House Energy and Commerce committee is investigating the data brokers, but lawyers for some of the brokers indicated that their clients ironically would invoke their Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination when privacy advocates accuse them of violating US citizens Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure. Police agencies told the AP that they used the brokers because it was quicker and easier than getting subpoenas. None of the agencies said that they researched how the data brokers gathered information, but some agencies, such as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, stopped the practice after receiving Congressional inquiries. The AP uncovered documents that showed that Ford Motors, State Farm, Chrysler, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Wells Fargo, and Wachovia Financial Services have used data brokers at some point in time.
from Telecom Daily
nilremerlin
AI
