WASHINGTON-A San Francisco-based privacy group claims in a new class-action lawsuit that telecom giant AT&T Inc. violated the law by cooperating with the National Security Agency as part of a massive program to eavesdrop on and extract data from Americans’ communications.
AT&T was formed following SBC Communications Inc.’s acquisition of AT&T Corp.
“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 e-mailing whom in order to identify persons who may be linked to suspicious activities, suspected terrorists or other investigatory targets, whether directly or indirectly,” the Electronic Freedom Foundation said. “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 declined to comment.
The Bush administration repeatedly defended the legality of the program, whereby NSA wiretaps certain wireless and wireline communications of U.S. citizens without obtaining court approval.
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on wartime executive power and the NSA’s surveillance authority. Meantime, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) has notified Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to be ready to answer questions at the hearing about statements Gonzales made on wiretapping during his January 2005 confirmation hearings.
