A.C.L.U. Raises Surveillance as Issue in Big Phone Merger

[kpete]

A.C.L.U. Raises Surveillance as Issue in Big Phone Merger
TOPICSLegal, Mergers & Acquisitions, AT&T, BellSouth
INDUSTRIESTelecommunications

As regulators weigh the many elements of AT&T’s proposed $89 billion acquisition of BellSouth, they are being asked to consider one more: allegations that the two phone giants turned over call records to the National Security Agency.

On Monday, the last day for the public to file comments about the deal with the Federal Communications Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the F.C.C. to use the merger review as an opportunity to look into allegations that large numbers of customer records were handed over to the security agency, possibly in violation of privacy laws.

The F.C.C. has already said that it will not investigate the matter because it is classified. BellSouth claims the report, which first appeared in USA Today, is false. And in the end, the combination of the two companies is widely expected to win approval from regulators (though probably with the requirement that they adopt some customer protections).

Still, the A.C.L.U.’s move is notable because it draws an explicit link between the much-discussed surveillance program and a proposed megamerger that, until now, at least, has seemed to draw relatively little public attention.

more at:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/?p=3820