When my phone records were purchased for less than a hundred dollars in January, I joined millions of Americans who worry about the invasion of their privacy. Now, the Associated Press has revealed that federal and local law enforcement agencies "bypassed subpoenas and warrants designed to protect civil liberties and gathered Americans' personal telephone records from private-sector data brokers".

Unscrupulous data vendors are bad enough. But the government using these brokers to access our personal telephone records without getting necessary warrants? Government can't make laws and then break them. That constitutes a real abuse of power, and it's illegal. These actions remind me of the actions taken by other governments that would cynically make laws that they knew they would break. We called such governments undemocratic and anti-American. We said that they didn't respect freedom and dignity of every individual.

So, I urge you to contact your Senators and urge them to pass the Schumer/Specter Bill, S. 2178, to restore to people the peace of mind that comes with privacy.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As Americans, we expect the privacy of our personal information to be protected. That's why I urge you to support S. 2178, "The Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act of 2006."

General Wesley Clark's cellular phone records were recently purchased by a prominent blogger for less than a hundred dollars, demonstrating how easy it is for anyone to obtain this kind of sensitive personal information.

Now, the Associated Press has revealed that federal and local law enforcement agencies "bypassed subpoenas and warrants designed to protect civil liberties and gathered Americans' personal telephone records from private-sector data brokers".

Unscrupulous data vendors are bad enough. But the government using these brokers to access our personal telephone records without getting necessary warrants? Government can't make laws and then break them. That constitutes a real abuse of power, and it's illegal. These actions remind me of the actions taken by other governments that would cynically make laws that they knew they would break. We called such governments undemocratic and anti-American. We said that they didn't respect freedom and dignity of every individual.

Americans should be able to trust that their privacy is being respected and protected by everyone from the government to our internet and mobile phone service providers.

Please support S. 2178, the Schumer/Specter "Consumer Telephone Records Protection Act," and urge your colleagues to do the same.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
January 25, 2006