AT&T documents remain under seal, for now
NetworkWorld.com, 05/18/06
Yesterday a U.S. District Court judge ruled that documents that allegedly prove that AT&T provided the government with customer information remain in the hands of the group that filed a class-action suit against the telecom giant in February.
In April the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed the evidence to back up its suit.
AT&T claims the records include trade secrets and should be returned to AT&T. The EFF says they obtained the records from a former AT&T employee. The EFF was also looking for a temporary injunction to prevent AT&T from further cooperating with the government’s surveillance program. Neither party won this time.
The judge said the records will remain under seal for now. And he did not grant EFF’s injunction request either.
AT&T along with Verizon and BellSouth have all denied that they have illegally provided private customer information to the government.
In another development, the National Journal reports (subscription required) that at the same hearing an assistant attorney general with the Justice Department said the documents “constitute a state secret.”
He argued the Constitution gives the president authority to preserve such secrets. The Justice Department asked the judge to review “a classified motion to dismiss (the case) in a confidential manner.”
He claims national security is at stake.
So what exactly is AT&T worried about, trade secrets or national security secrets?
-Denise Pappalardo (denisep@nww.com)
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