The ACLU of Rhode Island issued a statement today in response to the breaking news story that the U.S. government is secretly collecting records of calls made by Verizon customers.
"The revelation that the government has been secretly tracking the calls of potentially millions of Verizon phone customers is shocking, but only the latest example of the insidious growth of a surveillance state in this country. In the name of security and safety, the government is approaching Orwellian dimensions in its spying on ordinary people.
This latest disclosure highlights the need for strong action at both the state and federal level to address these increasing encroachments on basic privacy rights. It is important to recognize that these intrusions extend far beyond the government knowing who people are calling. As a result of cellphone technology, the government is able to track our moves as well. That is why we have been supporting bills sponsored by Rep. Edith Ajello that would generally require police to obtain warrants before getting GPS tracking location from cell phone companies or before examining the contents of a person's cell phone. We can no longer pretend that our privacy is safe from indiscriminate government snooping. We we hope that steps will be taken to restore some semblance of our right to privacy in the face of technological advances that are so easily able to eradicate it."
