October 15th, 2007

Verizon Freely Gave Phone Data to Feds Without Court Orders

Ellen Nakashima, Dallas News

Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone records to federal authorities without court orders hundreds of times since 2005.

The company said it does not determine the emergency requests' legality or necessity because to do so would slow efforts to save lives in criminal investigations.

Last month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group in San Francisco, obtained records through a FOIA lawsuit showing that the FBI sought data from telecom companies about the calling habits of suspects and their associates, The New York Times reported.

Related Issues: Anonymity, Privacy

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