Dutch Ruppersberger, in front of the United States House of Representatives, thanks them for providing a clear and concise bill to help fight terrorist communications from over seas. What he actually thanked them for, According to a lawsuit filing by the EFF/ACLU, is allowing the collection of the information of millions of Americans without us knowing.

In an attempt to explain it so that many of us can understand, The FISA Amendment Act, allows for phone companies to collect data on customers conversations for the government so the NSA can screen for keywords that might be terrorist related. Any conversations related to international calling can be tapped and recorded without a pre-authorized warrant if there’s belief it it being terrorist related. This doesn’t ultimately upset me, what gets me going is how the companies are going about doing this.

Companies can, if they wish, continue to collect your private information and conversations, store them indefinitely, and not have it be illegal. This isn’t considered illegal because it’s not being analyzed by NSA computers or analysts, so it’s not considered a tap. Isn’t that like saying you recorded someone for blackmail but couldn’t be held liable for blackmail because you never actually listened to it? Smells like bullshit to me. Companies, for the government, can hold this information indefinitely and NOT be sued, not only because it isn’t considered illegal, but also because the government is trying to grant these companies immunity in case of any lawsuit.

The ACLU and the EFF are challenging the legality of this and good for them. They’ve got the foresight to see where this is going, too bad Ruppersberger didn’t.

The FISA Act, pushed through by President Bush, and fully supported by Dutch Ruppersberger, has given our government full, unabridged access to conversations that they deem terrorist in nature. Having seen how our government has dealt with the financial issues as well as the Iraq war, I doubt this will lead to any good either.

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