US telco 'immunity' vote draws near

The bill addresses the legal ramifications when telcos hand data to the federal government

The US House of Representatives is set to vote on a new 'compromise' bill over telco immunity.

The bill would address the legal ramifications when telecoms firms hand over data to the federal government.

Debate has raged over the balance of national security and civil rights, particularly in light of the recent efforts by the National Security Agency (NSA) to wiretap suspected terrorists.

The actions led to customer lawsuits filed against companies that handed over records to the NSA.

The Bush administration, which had directly authorised the order, has long championed a law to shield the companies from lawsuits, while opponents have sought a bill which would allow the cases to go forward.

The new bill would cover providers that had previously cooperated with the NSA or disclosed information under order of the President.

The law would essentially put an end to all suits against telcos which had cooperated with the NSA.

"This bipartisan bill balances the needs of our intelligence community with Americans' civil liberties, and provides critical new oversight and accountability requirements," said House majority leader Steny Hoyer.

"It is the result of compromise and, like any compromise, is not perfect. But I believe it strikes a sound balance."

Civil liberty groups were quick to attack the new bill, calling it anything but a compromise.

"Congress appears poised to needlessly toss the rule of law out the window and deprive these millions of ordinary Americans of their day in court," said Kevin Bankston, a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is pursuing a suit against AT&T.

"My one simple message is that, no matter how they spin it, this is still immunity, period."