The field of opportunities for preventing public attention on corporate discussions revealed by law enforcement investigations was conservatively fenced in around the records that count as a private citizen's proof for their own private lives. On March 1, Chief Justice John G. Roberts handed down the unanimous opinion in FCC v. AT&T. Federal Communications Commission lawyers ended their paper war with the dispraised communications company, AT&T, by getting rid of the letters "c o r p o r a t e" from a position before the ordinary word "privacy."
They simply refused to agree with AT&T's records check against CompTel's examination into their pleadings and correspondence on file during the FCC Enforcement Bureau's investigation into the company's charges for the FCC's E-Rate program. AT&T's attempt to keep their charges unnoticed did not stand up to the federal agency's challenge. Helping the government give schools and libraries more access to advanced telecommunication and information services can not occur behind closed doors. The Supreme Court supported plain disclosure.
"Personal privacy" stands apart.
Opportunity To Get Hands On Corporate Discussions
After AT&T voluntarily reported possible overcharges to the FCC in August of 2004, the corporation's invoices and emails on charges made by employees to the government for the E-Rate program were at the center of the attentions by their competitors in the CompTel trade association. In response to their competitors' freedom of information access request, AT&T refused to agree to release government copies. Their justification to the Supreme Court? AT&T has a right to privacy.
