Remember the military-industrial complex of the ’60’s and ’70’s? That partnership between the buyers and sellers of military equipment and services that pretty much defined the US economy?
Well, it should not be surprising that in the information age the government strikes up a relationship with who else but the telecom providers? First, AT&T, seeking to gain favorable status for lucrative government contracts , assists the Bush administration in its warrantless wiretapping activities. Then, when the Electronic Frontier Foundation calls “Foul!” the telecoms and the executive office pressure Congress to include immunity for past illegal invasions of privacy in the just passed FISA law.
The EFF is not going to give up. From a letter they just sent out to members:
We’re going to challenge Congress’s unconstitutional grant
of immunity in our case against AT&T. We’re going to fight
for a congressional repeal of immunity in the next
Congress. And we’re going to file a new lawsuit against the
government, challenging its warrantless surveillance
practices, past, present and future.
I am not one for causes. I never contribute to political campaigns. But I do support the EFF. Here is a link to their donation page.
Update: Of course, the Internet is different than the old world and if there is a bump in the road, like wide spread spying, technical solutions will be found. Pirate Bay for instance is proposing a transport layer encryption scheme that would wreak havoc with government spying efforts.
