WOW!-CCIA: "(Trade Group That Represents Telecoms) Says NO TO IMMUNITY"

[kpete]

CCIA (Trade Group That Represents Telecoms) Says NO TO IMMUNITY

Shorter Google:
By: emptywheel Monday March 3, 2008 10:47 am

"Don't eliminate the competitive advantage I gained by trying to protect Americans' privacy."

The CCIA wrote a letter to Congress opposing retroactive immunity:
http://images.dailykos.com/images/user/6685/Chamberletter.pdf

In strong rebuke of the Chamber's knee jerk Republican pandering, the trade group that actually represents companies in the computer, Internet, information technology, and telecommunications industries, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) is opposed to telco amnesty , and have weighed in with their own letter to Congress.

To the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives:

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) strongly opposes S. 2248, the "FISA Amendments Act of 2007," as passed by the Senate on February 12, 2008. CCIA believes that this bill should NOT provide retroactive immunity to corporations that may have participated in VIOLATIONS of federal law. CCIA represents an industry that is called upon for cooperation and assistance in law enforcement. To act with speed in times of crisis, our industry needs clear rules, not vague promises that the U.S. Government can be relied upon to paper over Constitutional transgressions after the fact.

CCIA dismisses with contempt the manufactured hysteria that industry will not aid the United States Government when the law is clear. As a representative of industry, I find that suggestion insulting. To imply that our industry would refuse assistance under established law is an affront to the civic integrity of businesses that have consistently cooperated unquestioningly with legal requests for information. This also conflates the separate questions of blanket retroactive immunity for violations of law, and prospective immunity, the latter of which we strongly support.

...........................

Now, I don't actually know whether or not Google is opposed to retroactive immunity because of this fight over the search queries or a request explicitly tied to terrorism. But I do wonder whether CCIA Google has specific requests in mind when it says,"our industry needs clear rules, not vague promises that the U.S. Government can be relied upon to paper over Constitutional transgressions after the fact."


more at:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2008/03/03/shorter-google/#more-1889

[spanone]

1. k&r

[HCE SuiGeneris]

2. We have a Congress and Senate that treats the Constitution in the same manner

as the current WH mal-administration. Corruption is the only tenet they adhere to.

[electropop]

3. Another example of where "our" government is going too far even for the corporations!

Another example would be the lack of single-payer health care, which is hurting every corporation outside of the health insurance industry.

[Festivito]

4. ADD: Impeach for NO PARDONS either.

As to how much they will owe for their actions, we'll deal with that in open court.