I’m looking to get into the surveillance business.
I’m serious.
And no, not for any creepy, voyeuristic reason — but instead for the money.
You see, there’s some serious scratch to be made by those who provide the government with phone call data.
And according to a new Associated Press investigation, some phone companies are cleaning up by charging Uncle Sam a pretty penny for this service.
As the AP reports:
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Verizon charges $775 for the first month of a wiretap, then $500 for each additional month.
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Sprint has provided the government with an easy-to-use website and a much cheaper fee of $30 a month.
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Cricket charges $250 per wiretap.
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AT&T gets $10 a day following an activation fee of $325.
My friends, this adds up pretty fast. Verizon has been pulling in as much as an extra $5 million a year. And over the time span of four years, AT&T has racked up $24 million!
How Does This Make You Feel?
Of course, not everyone is happy about the high rates phone companies have been charging in an effort to spy on us.
About four years ago, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint were sued for overcharging federal and state police agencies. In regards to the wiretap fees, the lawsuit stated: “They were monstrously more than what the telecoms could ever hope to charge for similar services in an open, competitive market, and the costs charged to the governments by telecoms did not represent reasonable prices as defined in the code of federal regulations.”
Hey, I’m all for a free market. But if it’s our data, shouldn’t we be getting a piece of the action, too?
As far as I’m concerned, if the phone companies want to charge the government for access to our phone records, shouldn’t we also be compensated? After all, there must be some kind of value to our right to privacy.
It really is crazy when you break it down.
Basically, we’re paying the phone company for a service… then on the back end, the phone company takes your information, sells it to the government for which it gets paid handsomely, and the government goes on to use that information to violate your right to privacy.
Oh, and if you’re looking for a bit more sting on this one, guess where the government gets the money to pay for those wiretaps?
From you, dear taxpayer!
How does that make you feel?
You are actually paying the government to spy on you!
Follow the Money
How the hell did we get here, folks?
This is insane. But I suppose it doesn’t take too much digging to figure this one out…
You know the saying, “Follow the money!”
According to the good folks over at Opensecrets.org, for the 2012 election cycle, Verizon contributed $4,161,582 to various candidates, PACs, and political parties. Here are the top five recipients:
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Democratic Governors Association: $235,000
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Barack Obama: $229,253
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Republican Governors Association: $210,900
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Republican National Committee: $184,870
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Mitt Romney: $144,800
But wait, there’s more: In 2012, Verizon spent $15,220,000 on lobbying and, not surprisingly, 98 out of 123 Verizon lobbyists in 2012 previously held government jobs.
I guess the president was just kidding about ending that whole revolving door thing, huh?
Of course, it’s not just Verizon that’s ponied up…
During the 2012 election cycle, AT&T shelled out $6,773,161 in contributions, and last year the company spent $17,430,000 on lobbying efforts. 65 out of 90 lobbyists for AT&T in 2012 previously held government jobs.
Even Sprint, with its much thinner wallet, still managed to contribute $493,228 during the 2012 cycle, while spending $2,745,223 on lobbying efforts last year. 24 out of 29 Sprint lobbyists in 2012 had previously held government jobs.
With all this money at stake, it’s not hard to see why there is little chance the government will end such attacks on our Fourth Amendment rights.
And make no mistake; no matter how they try to spin it, accessing your private phone data without your consent or a warrant absolutely constitutes an unreasonable search.
If you want freedom, if you want liberty, then you must be a part of the movement to kick these incompetent lawmakers to the curb. Because as long as they allow special interests to infiltrate our democracy, the voice of the people will never be loud enough to topple this criminal regime.
Live honorably, live free…
Jeff Siegel for Freedom Watch
