Have any sort of data protection laws? How can there be any doubt that selling the phone records of a private individual, to anybody who can afford, is illegal?

"...Privacy watchdogs...Federal..."

Shum mishtake, shurely?

If the UK judges start striking down Blair laws that violate Article 8, and maybe go after the DVLA for selling private data.

Can't go saying people have a fundamental right to privacy, then make a law that says 'head of food standards agency can write himself an order to demand secret monitoring of all communications between X and Y'.

Only in a society where right is seen as wrong and wrong as right could there even be a discussion about this being legal. It is really a shame when individuals or organisations try to see what they can get away with legally rather than staying away from activities that are definitely immoral (even without the 'legality test).

you had to go after them for ID theft because they were lying about who they are. But that was a California law that it was ID theft not sure about the rest of the nation.

Calfornia is unique in the fact that they are apply ID theft to any one that use a some elses ID to commit a crime. Even credit card fraud.

"Attempts to reach AccuSearch and Patel for comment were unsuccessful."

Why don't you just use their Web site to buy their phone records? I bet you'd hear from them pretty damn quickly.

And Andy, the answer is no, the US does not have any sort of laws to protect the privacy of private citizens. Only the privacy of Government officers and corporations are protected. It's the Golden Rule: He who has the gold, makes the rules.