Thousands Of Firms Trade Confidential Data With The US Government In Exchange For Classified Intelligence
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/14/2013 - 00:29
 The rabbit hole just got deeper. A whole lot deeper.
Excerpt:
Going back to Obama's promise on live TV that nobody was listening in to any conversations, one wonders: why did the major telecom companies "ask for guarantees that they wouldn’t be held liable under U.S. wiretap laws." Because if the companies demanded a waiver, they obviously were wiretapping, i.e., eavesdropping, and doing so on US citizens, or those protected by US laws. And that's why Obama should have just kept his mouth shut, instead of having to explain what he meant and that he never said what he said.
Before they agreed to install the system on their networks, some of the five major Internet companies -- AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications Inc (VZ)., Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), Level 3 Communications Inc (LVLT). and CenturyLink Inc (CTL). -- asked for guarantees that they wouldn’t be held liable under U.S. wiretap laws. Those companies that asked received a letter signed by the U.S. attorney general indicating such exposure didn’t meet the legal definition of a wiretap and granting them immunity from civil lawsuits, the person said.
Ah, the US Attorney General - because what is another Obama scandal that doesn't involve his primary henchman Eric Holder...
Mark Siegel, a spokesman for Dallas-based AT&T, the nation’s biggestphone carrier, declined to comment. Edward McFadden, a spokesman forNew York-based Verizon, the second-largest phone company, declined tocomment. Scott Sloat, a spokesman for Overland Park, Kansas-basedSprint, and Monica Martinez, a spokeswoman for Broomfield,Colorado-based Level 3, didn’t immediately respond to requests forcomment. |
