Vt. to continue phone inquiry

[struggle4progress]

March 31, 2007

By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER — The state investigation into allegations that Verizon and AT&T illegally released customer phone records to the federal government will remain open, the Vermont Public Service Board said this week.

Vermont Public Service Department officials launched the inquiry more than eight months ago following news reports that telephone companies had supplied the federal government with customer information as part of a secret spying program.

State officials, including Republican Gov. James Douglas, said they want to determine if the two telephone companies violated state statute and the consumer Bill of Rights by participating in the program.

"I think we see this as a victory," said Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the petitioners. "There are a number of states that would not let these investigations even go forward. This decision allows discovery to continue." ...

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