AT&T Has Privacy Protection Under FOIA, Appeals Court Says

摘要

The FCC erred when it determined in 2005 that AT&T, Inc., was not entitled to "personal privacy" as part of an investigation into alleged overcharging as part of the E-rate program and thus could have documents related to the probe released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Philadelphia) has ruled. It has remanded the case back to the Commission for further consideration.rnIn a judgment handed down Sept. 22, the court in AT&T, Inc. v. FCC (case no. 08-4024) said that the nation's largest telco was correct when it claimed in its appeal that the Commission was not permitted to turn over records sought by CompTel that detailed work the Bell carrier had done for the New London, Conn., school district because corporations fall under the entities of those covered under the "personal privacy" exemption outlined under FOIA known as Exemption 7(C).