Why the Telcos Could Be On the Hook For Billions

by zuzu on 5.11.2006 · 4 comments

They may have violated the Stored Communications Act. And FISA doesn’t give them any cover.

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zuzu has written 1119 posts for Feministe.

{ 4 comments }

1 Magis 5.15.2006 at 9:47 am: I almost missed this one. Good work zuzu!
How would this fit in with Freedom of Information?
Would they simply ignore the requests because of National Security.
2 zuzu 5.15.2006 at 10:02 am: From what I understand, Qwest ignored the requests because their lawyers concluded that they were illegal.
3 Magis 5.15.2006 at 10:26 am: Do I have a right to demand of my service provided to whom they have given my information?
4 zuzu 5.15.2006 at 10:36 am: Looks like the statute gives you a private right of action, and info like that tends to come out in discovery:

2. The penalty for violating the Stored Communications Act is $1000 per individual violation. Section 2707 of the Stored Communications Act gives a private right of action to any telephone customer “aggrieved by any violation.” If the phone company acted with a “knowing or intentional state of mind,” then the customer wins actual harm, attorney’s fees, and “in no case shall a person entitled to recover receive less than the sum of $1,000.”

I don’t think FIFA would get you anywhere, since the telcos aren’t government entitites. Also, I’m not sure if “individual violation” refers to a per-customer or per-incident right of action. IOW, I can’t tell just from this if your recovery is limited to $1000 for all violations, or if you can get the $1000 for each time the telco recorded your calls.