January 31, 2006
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class-action lawsuit
against AT&T on January 31, 2006, accusing the telecom giant of
violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating
with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its massive and illegal
program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications.
In December of 2005, the press revealed that the government had
instituted a comprehensive and warrantless electronic surveillance
program that ignored the careful safeguards set forth by Congress. This
surveillance program, purportedly authorized by the President at least
as early as 2001 and primarily undertaken by the NSA, intercepts and
analyzes the communications of millions of ordinary Americans.
In the largest "fishing expedition" ever devised, the NSA uses powerful
computers to "data-mine" the contents of these Internet and telephone
communications for suspicious names, numbers, and words, and to analyze
traffic data indicating who is calling and emailing whom in order to
identify persons who may be "linked" to "suspicious activities,"
suspected terrorists or other investigatory targets, whether directly
or indirectly.
But the government did not act-and is not acting-alone. The
government requires the collaboration of major telecommunications
companies to implement its unprecedented and illegal domestic spying
program.
AT&T Corp. (which was recently acquired by the new
AT&T, Inc,. formerly known as SBC Communications) maintains
domestic telecommunications facilities over which millions of
Americans' telephone and Internet communications pass every day. It
also manages some of the largest databases in the world, containing
records of most or all communications made through its myriad
telecommunications services.
The lawsuits alleges that AT&T Corp. has opened its key
telecommunications facilities and databases to direct access by the NSA
and/or other government agencies, thereby disclosing to the government
the contents of its customers' communications as well as detailed
communications records about millions of its customers, including the
lawsuit's class members.
The lawsuit also alleges that AT&T has given the government
unfettered access to its over 300 terabyte "Daytona" database of caller
information -- one of the largest databases in the world. Moreover, by
opening its network and databases to wholesale surveillance by the NSA,
EFF alleges that AT&T has violated the privacy of its customers and
the people they call and email, as well as broken longstanding
communications privacy laws.
The lawsuit also alleges that AT&T continues to assist the
government in its secret surveillance of millions of Americans. EFF, on
behalf of a nationwide class of AT&T customers, is suing to stop
this illegal conduct and hold AT&T responsible for its illegal
collaboration in the government's domestic spying program, which has
violated the law and damaged the fundamental freedoms of the American
public.
Legal Documents
Related Links
Related Pages on eff.org
About AT&T's Daytona Database (External)
Other NSA Domestic Spying Lawsuits
