This is how political debates get lost:
While nobody is suggesting the bipartisan breakthrough on an update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is in trouble, it’s clear that many liberal Democrats will be disappointed in a measure that provides a modest level of lawsuit immunity to telecommunications firms that helped the Bush administration with warrantless wiretaps.
In fact, despite Steny Hoyer’s best efforts to obfuscate matters, it’s quite clear that telcos are virtually guaranteed to get immunity. All they have to do is get the attorney general to send the judge a letter saying that the White House had told them it was OK. Since we know the White House wants immunity for these companies, it’s a safe bet that the administration will produce the necessary “certification” and the telcos will get their get-out-of-jail-free card. There’s nothing “modest” about the level of immunity the legislation offers to telcos, and it’s disappointing to see journalists buying this plainly misleading spin.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.