Conn. Regulators Conclude They Can Probe Phone Records Issue

[struggle4progress]

March 14, 2007

... Renee Redman, of the ACLU of Connecticut, said the DPUC is the first state regulatory agency to indicate it has jurisdiction; Vermont denied a motion to dismiss and ordered that discovery go forward, but has yet to rule further.

The state DPUC rejected the arguments of the utilities as well as the federal government that the state agency was seeking "to intrude on foreign intelligence-gathering and military activities.''

The state agency said it was only interested in whether the two companies violated Connecticut customers' rights by illegally releasing the information, something that is within its jurisdiction. It also found it has a remedy in the form of monetary fines, if it determines AT&T and Verizon violated privacy rules.

David Goldberg, an attorney with the DPUC, said Monday the agency will take written exceptions to the ruling by March 20, with oral arguments on April 19 and a final ruling expected by April 25.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2007/03/14/77743.htm