I actually don't know if my phone company does this, beardedbruce, although I would like to know. I use a company that is still fairly small, and I understand that some of the smaller ones don't do this.

But you have raised a good point. It would be good if people could choose, when they sign up for a phone service, whether or not to allow their information to be sold to the government. As of right now, people don't have that choice, unlike the president, who can easily choose not to attend roasts. People need telephones, the president doesn't need to attend roasts.