[ UPDATE: ] Bellsouth denies USA Today charge, claims no sharing of records.

According to CNN and other news sources, Bellsouth denies USA Today’s claim that it participated in the massive NSA privacy breach.

In several reports, Bellsouth spokesman Jeff Battcher claims

Battcher said BellSouth’s customer service department had received only 26 complaints about reports that private phone records may have been relayed to the government.

26 sounds quite low, especially since I know 5 folk, including myself, that called when the story broke.

The weakened FCC has let a lot of us down over the last few years but, in spite of attempts to completely “defang” this regulatory agency, it still has a bit of legal jurisdiction over telecommunications.

What Is The FCC Doing To Keep Your Telephone Company From Disclosing Your Information?

In addition to these rules, the FCC is exploring whether new or stronger rules may be necessary to protect your customer information. The FCC investigates consumer complaints about unauthorized or unlawful disclosure of customer information, and, if it finds a violation, can issue citations and propose fines. The FCC recently proposed $100,000 fines on telephone companies with inadequate certifications regarding compliance with FCC rules protecting customer information from disclosure…You are an important part of the FCC’s efforts to keep telephone companies from unlawfully disclosing your customer information. If you suspect that your customer information may have been disclosed without your permission, first contact your telephone company to inform it of your concern.

I called Bellsouth’s Ethics office yesterday and today to report their company’s violations of their ethical, privacy, regulatory and corporate integrity rules and guidelines. No one seemed to be home

So, I called (404-249-2000) Bellsouth’s CEO Duane Ackerman.

It seems that Bellsouth’s CEO has been getting quite a few calls about their NSA dealings in the last day – they shunted me off to the “Executive Complaints” office.

I told the apparently wearied administrative assistant that I wished to report that my telephone call records had been improperly and illegally disclosed to a third party. She asked for my phone number and thanked me.

‘Don’t you want to know who your company disclosed the records to?”, I asked.

Dully, she responded, “The NAS, right?” “Umm, no, actually the NSA.”

I finished by asking for a detailed list of disclosures, as the FCC requires, for the last 5 years. She said she doubted I’d get that list.

“OK, I just want you to record I asked for it.”

If you are or have been a Bellsouth customer, I suggest you call 404-249-2000, ask for CEO Duane Ackerman’s office and report Bellsouth’s ethics, corporate integrity, privacy and FCC regulatory violations.