Supreme Court Leaves Telcom Cos. Shield in Place

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The United States Supreme Court this week declined to hear a challenge by the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation to legislation that provides legal immunity to telecommunications companies that assist the National Security Agency in monitoring citizens' email and telephone communications.

The Associated Press reported that the High Court left in place a unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on December 29, 2011, that upheld a lower court ruling that the 2008 surveillance rules enacted by Congress were constitutionally permissible.

The rules, which allegedly enabled the intelligence community to engage in warrantless monitoring of Americans' communications, were targeted by the ACLU and EFF in lawsuits against various telecommunications entities, including Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Communications, Inc. that claimed violation of customers' privacy.