Supreme Court to Decide if AT&T is a Person
Posted by Sara Jerome onThe Hill
 |
A
controversial decision last year loosened campaign finance restrictions
on the grounds that corporations are just groups of people, so they
should not face certain election rules that individuals do not face.
Lyle Denniston at Scotusblog says this case is similar but involves "personal privacy" rather than campaign finance.
The
case arose when the company did not want corporate information in the
hands of government agencies to become publicly available through a
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Individuals are protected
from that possibility when the documents involve their personal privacy,
according to Denniston.
Information about AT&T's
billing practices are on hand at the FCC after a now-resolved
investigation. Rival telecommunications companies sought the records,
and AT&T protested. A federal appeals court said that AT&T is
entitled to the same personal privacy rules that protect individuals,
according to the Wall Street Journal.