If Credo is behind this, then I'm getting a new mobile phone provider:

Telecoms firm hails 'significant victory' as judge blocks FBI's data demands. The Guardian reports: The Californian telecoms company thought to be behind a stunning court victory that has blown a hole in the FBI's highly secretive system for collecting US citizens' private data has hailed the "significant" legal breakthrough.

Credo, based in San Francisco, spoke out after a federal judge ordered the US government to stop issuing what are called "national security letters" – demands for data that contain in-built gagging clauses that prevent the recipients disclosing even the existence of the orders or their own identity.

In a carefully worded release, the firm fell short of revealing itself as the instigator of the legal action that resulted in Friday's development. But it is understood by the Guardian that the telecommunications firm was indeed the unnamed litigant behind the action.The Californian telecoms company thought to be behind a stunning court victory that has blown a hole in the FBI's highly secretive system for collecting US citizens' private data has hailed the "significant" legal breakthrough.

Click the link to read the whole thing. The judge gave the government 90 days to appeal, and given the Obama administration's laser like focus on punishing whistleblowers and continuing W's destruction of the 4th amendment by treating citizens as criminals (see FISA, Sen. Obama's vote in favor thereof), I have no doubt that the administration will throw everything they can at the appeal. I mean, you can't have an effective police state unless you can get whatever you want whenever you want without restraint, right?

I must say that before reading this article, I assumed CREDO was like Move On, a seemingly good idea that either was co-opted by political consultant whores or was the means by which closeted political consultant whores made themselves useful to the democratic party by convincing progressives that clicking a link or signing an online petition was the same thing as actually protesting bad policy or actually engaging in the political process. But if Credo was behind this case--and it looks like they are--I'm going to choose them as my cell phone provider. I mean, they actually did something spectacular. Kudos Credo.

Comments

[antoniomo]

I thought Credo was based in Canada. And I didn't know about this lawsuit. Geez, and I thought I was fairly well-informed. In any case, I hope it's Credo. I switched to thenm from AT%T after the Supreme Court said it was alright for corportations to spend as much as they wanted to completely corrupt our political process.

[gmb]

Antoniomo: Credo is based in San Francisco. No one knew for sure who the telecom company was, they speculated, however, and it appears that the speculation was right. So you have Credo now? Do you like the service? I wish there was a real store to go to. I am probably going to get a smart phone and kill this 4G monster I have with Verizon, then replace my internet access with Time Warner (yes, hate them and got rid of them for being assholes, but it's cheaper and I hate Verizon more). GMB

[MaximusNYC]

This is great. Thanks for the tip! I'm going to investigate Credo.

[MaximusNYC]

Ah: Looks like they use Sprint's network. Unfortunately, Sprint has much less coverage than AT&T and Verizon. Also, Sprint uses the CDMA system rather than the GSM system (the global standard) -- so a Credo/Sprint phone would not be much use if you travel outside the US.

[Antoniomo]

Credo works fine for me. The service is good. I don't have a fancy phone, though, so I can't really say anything about internet speed.

[gmb]

Max: I have Sprint now. It's ok. that said, I know that Sprint entered into a contract with Alcatel-Lucent for something called light radio/cells which are smaller devices used in cities to boost speed and bandwidth for 4G/4G LTE systems (I own a few ALU shares, so I have been following this). Long and short, they may have a jump on providing good urban 4G service. I hope they do something about travel.
Antoniomo: Thanks for the review. I'm probably going to go for a smart phone and kill my home 4G phone and never have to deal with the Verizon bastards again ever. I hope. GMB

[Telephone]

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