One government lawyer who has participated in negotiations with telecommunications providers said the Bush administration has argued that a company can turn over its entire database of customer records -- and even the stored content of calls and e-mails -- because customers "have consented to that" when they establish accounts. The fine print of many telephone and Internet service contracts includes catchall provisions, the lawyer said, authorizing the company to disclose such records to protect public safety or national security, or in compliance with a lawful government request.
"It is within their terms of service because you have consented to that," the lawyer said. If the company also consents, "and they do it voluntarily, the U.S. government can accept it."[emphasis mine]
That's their response, you should have read the fine print. I don't think that is going to go over to well with the American people, and what about people like my parents who have had the same phone service for 40 years, well before this technology existed. Did they sign up for this?
Furthermore, notice the emphasized portion of the Post's story. Why would the fine print say that they could turn over stored content if they were not storing it?
The real question the American people need to ask themselves is, "Do I trust these people with this information?" The same people who have repeatedly lied to us about this program, the same people who have lied about virtually everything since they took office, from the Iraq War to catching fish (President Bush recently told a German newspaper that he caught a perch at his ranch that would have dwarfed the previous world record.)
No, we don't trust them.
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