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Press Release

ACLU of Colorado urges state officials to investigate phone companies' cooperation with NSA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2006

In conjunction with the National ACLU and nineteen other ACLU affiliates across the country, the ACLU of Colorado sent a letter today to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and the Colorado Attorney General demanding an investigation into whether phone companies operating within the Colorado have turned millions of Coloradans’ phone records over to the National Security Agency without any legal process. If the sharing is found to be in violation of Colorado law, the ACLU is urging that officials seek injunctions or other orders to immediately halt these practices.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has jurisdiction over hundreds of telephone companies operating in Colorado and has the duty to enforce applicable state laws and regulations meant to protect the privacy rights and the private phone records of Colorado telephone subscribers. The Colorado Attorney General may initiate investigations and legal proceedings at the request of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and also enforces the Colorado Consumer Protection laws, which may have been violated when the telephone companies disclosed Colordadans’ phone records in contravention of their own privacy policies and agreements with the consumer.

“These recent reports suggest that the federal government’s gathering of Americans’ private information may be much broader and more intrusive that originally disclosed,” stated ACLU of Colorado attorney Taylor Pendergrass. “An immediate investigation by the public entities that Coloradans have entrusted with protecting their privacy rights is necessary in order to get clear answers about the extent of this activity, and to immediately halt and prosecute any violations of Colorado law.”

In addition to the ACLU of Colroado, actions were filed today by ACLU affiliates in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Other ACLU affiliates are expected to file additional letters and complaints in the coming weeks.
The ACLU of Colorado encourages all concerned Colorado telephone subscribers to contact their telephone company by using the customer service number or email address on their telephone bill, and to file complaints with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which can be done on-line at:

http://www.dora.state.co.us/pls/real/CCTS_oWEB.complaint_form

See the link below for some suggested text for filling in the “complaint” portion of the online form. If you file a complaint with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, please take a minute to send a note or copy to <info@aclu-co.org>, or mail to ACLU of Colorado, 400 Corona St., Denver, CO 80218, so that we can keep track of our members’ complaints.

You can also sign onto a complaint filed by the National ACLU with the Federal Communications Commission, in charge of federal regulation of telecommunications companies, by going to www.aclu.org/dontspy. At that site, you will also find important information about actions going on across the country.

Related links:

Press release dated May 24, 2006

Letter to Colorado Public Utitlities Commission

Letter to Colorado Attorney General

Sample text for Colorado Public Utilities Commission complaint

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