Thomas J. Downey and Adam M. Eisgrau Will Work to Block Amnesty for Telecoms

San Francisco - As Congress debates letting the telecom industry off the hook for its compliance with illegal government surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has enlisted two veteran lobbyists to try to block amnesty for companies collaborating with the warrantless spying.

EFF is lead counsel for the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&ampT, one of many lawsuits aimed at holding telecommunications companies accountable for violating their customers' rights by illegally assisting the National Security Agency in domestic surveillance. The opportunity for this critical case to be decided by a judge is under serious threat as the White House calls for Congress to provide these companies with immunity for their role in the illegal program.

In an effort to preserve the courts' crucial role in protecting the privacy of all Americans, EFF will now take its fight against warrantless spying to Capitol Hill. Thomas J. Downey and Adam M. Eisgrau, both with decades of experience in Washington, have been retained by EFF to work to block amnesty for companies who break the law.

"While EFF generally does not engage in Washington-style lobbying, we need to make Congress understand the importance of letting our case against AT&ampT go forward," said EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. "By releasing the telecoms from liability, Congress would be permitting the widespread flouting of our laws by private companies entrusted with our most personal communications."

To help with EFF's "Stop the Spying" campaign:
http://www.stopthespying.org

Contact:

Rebecca Jeschke
Media Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
press@eff.org