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September 28, 2006BELTWAY BLOGROLL
Phone Privacy Is Back On Congress' Radar
Early this year, John Aravosis of Americablog created a stir when he bought the cellular telephone records of 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark to make a point about how easy it is get such records.
His attention grabbing stunt helped spur quick congressional action on bills to curtail the practice, which is known as "pretexting," or obtaining information under false pretenses. The House passed one measure on the issue in late April and another in early May. The Senate Judiciary Committee also approved a bill in March.
The legislation appeared to be on the fast track toward passage but then stalled. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., blamed the "mysterious disappearance" of the bill from the House's agenda on an objection from the Intelligence Committee over concerns that the measure could hinder intelligence-gathering activities.
But now, with lawmakers nearly ready to adjourn until after the November election, the subject is suddenly back on the radar. The reason: a scandal involving the computer company Hewlett-Packard, which allegedly hired private investigators to engage in pretexting aimed at board members, employees and journalists. The goal was to uncover internal sources suspected of leaking company information to the media.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee begins a two-day hearing today into the HP scandal. In the background, lawmakers who want to stop pretexting are working feverishly to move the legislation.
Andrew Noyes at Technology Daily has been covering the story for us this week and had two stories on the behind the scenes maneuvering over the bills. I thought bloggers might be interested since one of their own helped push the topic onto the congressional radar. Here are excerpts:
Lawmakers Seek Deal On Protecting Phone Records
The chairmen of two powerful Senate committees have been working closely with Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to finalize a consensus bill to curtail "pretexting," a practice in which online brokers fraudulently obtain and sell telephone records for a fee.Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., reportedly are "very close" to a compromise, Republican sources said. ...
Senate Judiciary staffers have negotiated changes to their bill to mesh with the House language "so if that goes through it can be signed right into law," a source close to the process said. But compromise might not come that easily. "Word is [that] Stevens is saying his way or the highway" when it comes to pretexting legislation, the source said.
State Pre-Emption Is Obstacle In Phone Privacy Debate
Differences over whether to pre-empt existing state laws reportedly is the sticking point to a Senate consensus on a federal bill against "pretexting," a practice in which Internet-based brokers fraudulently obtain and sell telephone records, sources said late Tuesday.Several Capitol Hill sources and consumer watchdogs said that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is insisting that language negotiated with the Senate Judiciary Committee pre-empt state laws on the subject.
Stevens' measure, S. 2389, would override state mandates that require telecommunications carriers or Internet-enabled voice services to "develop, implement or maintain procedures for protecting confidentiality of customer proprietary network information," according to a staff working draft. ...
If a pretexting bill with state pre-emption is enacted, it could halt state investigations by utility commissions into the lawfulness of electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency, the American Civil Liberties Union argues.
ACLU Legislative Counsel Tim Sparapani said his group supports a crackdown on pretexting but not when paired with potentially damaging provisions that could hinder state efforts to examine NSA spying without warrants. Five states have probes pending, and five others have requested investigations, the ACLU said.
Jeannine Kenney, a senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, also said the bill would not "do much to prevent the breach of privacy from occurring in the first place."
Posted by Danny | 07:10 AM
