Verizon Wireless says that a number of its employees have “accessed and viewed” President-elect Barack Obama’s personal cellphone account without authorization.
The company said all employees who accessed the account — whether they were authorized to or not — were immediately put on leave with pay. The firm said it was evaluating the circumstances of each employee’s access to the account to determine appropriate action, including disciplinary proceedings.
“We apologize to President-elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day,” chief executive Lowell McAdam said in a statement.
Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson declined to comment beyond the company’s prepared statement and wouldn’t specify how many employees saw the account or what kind of information was viewed.
UPDATE: 3:15PM – Snoopers Fired!
What is required for private communications to remain private?
Fire them after they fire the employees who looked into Joe the Plumber’s records.
# 20 EvilPoliticians said, “To keep out the curiosity seekers or those looking for dirt.”
They should do it for ALL accounts. Not just people who work for me and get paid by me. Like elected officials
#22 – Paddy-O
100% agreed. It’s not ironclad security but does help. Not much work to implement either in many cases.
Well, that certainly killed off any chance that he will be able to use personal email for as long as he is in office.
Way to go Verizon, you just pissed off the next Prez. I hope you don’t have any legislative issues up for consideration the next 8 years.
Don
# 24 Don said, “Well, that certainly killed off any chance that he will be able to use personal email for as long as he is in office. ”
At that level of responsibility (US Pres.) He wouldn’t be doing email anyway. He’ll dictate memo’s and such.
Now I think I understand why they took Obama’s Blackberry away.
So,
I need to poke a finger at you folks that THINK/THOUGHT your DIGITAL encoding was SAFE from something..
I wish my boss let me leave with pay for a few days.
The very freedom we use to access our accounts is the same freedom that allows others to snoop, pry, spam, pirate, infiltrate, and wreck havoc with our accounts. We need to trade off some freedom to have privacy. Too much security will bog the whole system down, much like TSA.
#11 – Paddy-RAMBO
>>Didn’t Omama vote for FISA so he should have
>>NO problem with this.
Uh, Paddy-RAMBO, the FISA court has been around since 1978, when Obama was 17. I doubt he was voting FOR anything that year.
What he DID vote for was to remove the decision on snooping from the president, and give it back to the FISA court where it belongs.
There’s nothing wrong with FISA; it’s just that mockery of the Constitution that Dumbya turned it into a get-out-of-jail card for people who would otherwise be considered felons.
#26 And it doesn’t sound fishy to you the closeness of the two stories? I mean, first we hear about the balckberry being taken away. A lot of people boo hoo’d on that.
And then comes this piece of news giving an explanation as to why is good that they took his blackberry? C’mon!
#30 The day is not over until MM rationalizes crap.
So it’s Ok for Verizon to snoop on everyone else’s calls, in the name of National Security. And they are thus protected from public law suits, as government contractors. But just don’t let anyone snoop out of naive curiously. And especially on someone important.
How do we know that this wasn’t trumped up by Verizon, to bypass their labor union? And get a whole bunch of workers let go for a fictional offense? It just seems to me VERY convenient timing. Like a witch hunt, that saves them paying out retirement benefits. And is this also more Obama bashing? Cause apparently nobody listened in on McCain’s calls. But I quess after Palin’s emails leaked, they needed something to balance it.
#32 Are you gonna keep beating the “Obama bashing” horse? put that horse to rest!
Obama is an elected official who’s now on call 24/7. For him there is now no longer “personal” time. Every single word he utters for the next 4 years should be recorded for posterity.
you have to ask why this was leaked..
news is not made anymore, it’s created.
imo, this was a warm up or a warning..
#31 – ‘dro
>>#30 The day is not over until MM rationalizes
>>crap.
“rationalizes crap”? Do you have something to say, ‘dro, or are you just trying out your English skills?
I didn’t “rationalize” anything. I merely pointed out to Paddy-RAMBO that Obama was a teenager when the FISA act was passed by Congress, and that the only effect he’s had on the legislation has been to undo some of the damage Dumbya infliced on the Constitution.
Got that, m’hijito?
Is everyone out there giving opinions clean, and have not done anything they were not suppose to on a job. I am not saying the employees were right in doing what they did, unless it was for a business purpose. However, let Verizon take care of those that did this without a just cause. And those of you who are guilt free of any wrong doing, then cast the first stone. We all have done something at work that we were NOT suppose to, you just didn’t get caught. It is in every business and govt. agency. Hats off to you all that are lilly white. Let the company take care of it. There are good and good employees in all companies.
I once cut the strings on my boss’s golden parachute.
Obama did support giving the companies backward immunity shortly after becoming the Dem’s presumptive nominee, reversing his earlier stand against the immunity.
Hey It is a known fact that all Verizon emplyees have access to all verizon records.. Wireless or not.. My wife works there and she says that they can see all records.. DSL wireless or phone.. The way to keep your info private is not to have anything with a company.. Verizon like many companys strive to keep all records private, but all you have to do is search for the acct.. Theres no real way to win