A month or so ago USA ran with a story that claimed phone companies were turning information over to the NSA for a data-mining operation. Aside from the fact that the alleged information was not private, they’ve also had to deal with denials from the phone companies involved.

In a note to their readers they admit:

The denial was unexpected. USA TODAY had spoken with BellSouth and Verizon for several weeks about the substance of the report. The day before the article was published, the reporter read the sections of the article concerning BellSouth and Verizon to representatives of the companies and asked for a denial before publication.
At the time, BellSouth did not deny participation in the program, but it issued a statement saying the company “does not provide any confidential customer information to the NSA or any government agency without proper legal authority.” Verizon said that it would not comment on national security matters and that it acts “in full compliance with the law” and with respect for customers’ privacy.

On May 15, BellSouth said it could not categorically deny participation in the program until it had conducted a detailed investigation. BellSouth said that internal review concluded that the company did not contract with the NSA or turn over calling records.

While this does not disprove the existance of such a program, it gives the impression that, if the companies are cooperating, they feel strongly that they are within the law to do so. Unfortunately, if the program does exist, it’s another case of the media informing the terrorists of the methods we are using to catch them.

Hat tip: Wizbang

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