News International, parent company of the now-defunct News of the World tabloid, faces an FBI investigation after new information surfaced about phone hacking that potentially occurred in the United States. News International is a British subsidiary of News Corp.
On Thursday, News International settled multiple lawsuits filed by 37 victims of phone hacking. Among the victims was famed British actor, Jude Law.
News International accepted that a 2003 News of the World story about Law grew out of phone hacking. The story referenced phone calls Law's assistant made to him while he was at an airport. Authorities have now come to believe that airport was John F. Kennedy International in New York City. The FBI said it was looking into the incident to see if any laws were broken on U.S. soil.
While the phone hacking scandal has been primarily confined to the United Kingdom, with Parliamentary investigations and inquiries, American authorities have been involved on a smaller scale since the summer of 2011. In addition to the fact that News Corp. is an American company, U.S. citizens suspected they were victims of phone hacking.
Families of 9/11 victims brought concerns to the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in August. They reported suspicious activity on their phones and suspected they might have been victims of phone hacking done by News of the World. Holder said the U.S. was investigating their concerns. As of early January 2012, the families of 9/11 victims were still awaiting answers.
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