PunkAssBlog.com

Hey kids, remember when we talked about the right to privacy?

Yeah, I’m kinda wishing that was more concrete right now, and not because I could use a recreational abortion.

Verizon is seeking to have a lawsuit filed against it for allegedly illegally helping the government eavesdrop on its customers and data mine their call records dismissed. The company argues that the suit infringes on the company’s First Amendment rights.

That’s right. Verizon, which just wants this messy, potentially expensive legal hassle to go away, is arguing that listening to your conversations and then tattling to the government is protected speech.

Also, due process is unconstitutional.

Verizon additionally argues that the Electronic Communications Protection Act or ECPA which largely prohibits telecoms from revealing sensitive customer data without legal process, is unconstitutional.

This is just one part of many attempts to get the case thrown out (a slightly less “whaaa?” argument says that just talking about what super secrets they gave to the government will endanger national security) just in case Bush fails to win all the telecoms their “everything after 9/11 doesn’t count” immunity that everyone involved so desperately wants. Of course, if the immunity is granted for some period of time, or the case is thrown out on national security grounds, then that sucks but the suckage is generally contained. If Verizon can successfully argue that a corporation which collects money from a customer has First Amendment rights to turn everything about that customer over to the government without due process, then that’s really, really, unfathomably bad on levels I can’t even comprehend right now. But they’ll do it. They’ll walk into that courtroom and place the entire First Amendment on ice and twist the definition of Free Speech for years to come if it would save them a few million in court fees and damage payouts.

Fuckers.