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EFF Sues AT&T Over NSA Wiretapping

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Tue Jan 31, 2006 07:04 PM
from the getting-caught-in-the-wrong-bed dept.
Privacy Government Politics
Omega1045 writes "Cory Doctorow over at BoingBoing is reporting that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has just filed a lawsuit against AT&T for helping the National Security Agency execute illegal warrant-less wiretaps against American citizens. From the article: '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.'"
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story

Related Stories

[+] AT&T Seeks to Hide Spy Docs 157 comments
UltimaGuy writes to mention a Wired article about some AT&T documents that have gone off the farm. An ex-employee provided some information to the EFF, to assist in their wiretapping case against the company. Ma Bell is now arguing the files are confidential, and shouldn't be used in a court case. From the article: "The documents, which the EFF filed under a temporary seal last Wednesday, purportedly detail how AT&T diverts internet traffic to the National Security Agency via a secret room in San Francisco and allege that such rooms exist in other AT&T switching centers."
[+] FBI Releases Secret Subpoena Information 282 comments
gollum123 writes to mention a CNN article, reporting on an FBI information release. The number of secret subpoenas the Bureau filed last year reached 3,501. These documents allowed access to credit card records, bank statements, telephone records, and internet access logs for thousands of legal citizens without asking for a court's permission. From the article: "The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the same panel that signs off on applications for business records warrants, also approved 2,072 special warrants last year for secret wiretaps and searches of suspected terrorists and spies. The record number is more than twice as many as were issued in 2000, the last full year before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001."
[+] The AT&T Whistleblower's Evidence 405 comments
hdtv writes "Wired News has published the details of NSA wiretap and revealed former AT&T technician Mark Klein as the main whistleblower, specifically covering the evidence he presented when he came forward." From the article: "In this recently surfaced statement, Klein details his discovery of an alleged surveillance operation in an AT&T office in San Francisco, and offers his interpretation of company documents that he believes support his case. For its part, AT&T is asking a federal judge to keep those documents out of court, and to order the EFF to return them to the company."
[+] EFF Case Against AT&T To Go Forward 227 comments
Tyler Too writes "The NSA wiretap lawsuit filed by the EFF will apparently be moving forward. A federal judge has denied the government's request that the EFF's lawsuit against AT&T be dismissed. Among other things, the judge ruled that 'if the government has been truthful in its disclosures, divulging information on AT&T's role in the scandal should not cause any harm to national security.' The case will now move forward, pending a government appeal."
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EFF Sues AT&T Over NSA Wiretapping 25 Comments More /

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  • TLA truck overturns on the turnpike (Score:5, Funny)

    by Thud457 (234763) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:05PM (#14611659) Homepage Journal
    thousands confused...

  • Yes! (Score:5, Funny)

    by s0rbix (629316) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:07PM (#14611676)
    EFF is my BFF.

  • It's about time EFF got back into the news! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by erroneus (253617) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:08PM (#14611683) Homepage
    This will definitely be an interesting story to follow. This will put companies on the defensive for complying with any illegal acts by the government. Some say you can't sue the government, but you sure as hell can sue the people who comply with illegal acts. Why didn't I think about that angle? I just assumed they tapped the communications in some way that circumvented the companies...

  • What'd they say? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ackthpt (218170) * on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:12PM (#14611721) Homepage Journal

    "What'd they say?"
    "Said they're gonna sue AT&T."
    "Why?"
    "Dunno, probably because AT&T let's us wiretap illegally."
    "What're they saying now?"
    "Something about their line is probably even now being bugged."
    "Harsh!"

  • TLAs... (Score:5, Funny)

    by The Good Reverend (84440) <michael@@@michris...com> on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:12PM (#14611723) Homepage Journal
    EFF Sues AT&T Over NSA Wiretapping

    OMG!

  • not the typical class action suit... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SethJohnson (112166) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:18PM (#14611790) Homepage Journal


    The text of the EFF lawsuit [eff.org] requests damages of $100 per day for each day the violation occurred or $10,000 (whichever is greater) be paid to each class member. Sure beats getting a coupon for $10 off our next purchase of a bill of rights.

    Seth

  • Interesting (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ewhac (5844) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:18PM (#14611797) Homepage Journal
    By responding to a wiretapping request they knew to be illegal, AT&T became complicit to the act, and can be charged with aiding and abetting.

    It's a valid assertion. "I was just following orders," has long been regarded as no defense. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

    Schwab

  • If AT&T is innocent, they have nothing to hide (Score:5, Funny)

    by bigtrike (904535) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:29PM (#14611893)
    Just like a citizen who is not guilty of any crimes should welcome the friendly government agent asking for his papers, if AT&T is innocent they should welcome this. If they have not been breaking laws by complying with the NSA, then they have nothing to fear. Should AT&T attempt to fight this, it must be because they are definitely guilty of violating laws.

  • Want to help? Join the EFF today! (Score:5)

    by toby (759) * on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:42PM (#14611992) Homepage Journal
    That clinches it... I have thought about contributing [eff.org] before, but this clinches it. I'm going to join.

    • Re:Not illegal. (Score:5, Informative)

      by erroneus (253617) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:13PM (#14611740) Homepage
      Uh, no. Congress did not grant this power explicitly. Congress allowed military action. And from what I've heard, they are spinning this to mean that domestic wiretaps are okay. Here's the problem:

      They already have the power to do these things without a warrant so long as they go back and get the warrant within 72 hours. This gives them the ability to act on a lead immediately without the hassle of waiting on a judge. They don't want to do even THAT much -- they want whatever they are doing to be SECRET and to be UNACCOUNTABLE for it. Ultimately, I believe we will find that it is going well beyond communications where one side is 'al qaeda' and the other side is in the U.S. I think if we get to see what they are REALLY doing, we'll find investigations against anti-war and anti-Bush organizations and their members.

        • Nice, Except (Score:5, Insightful)

          by AoT (107216) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:51PM (#14612061) Homepage Journal
          The Constitution does not allow for warrantless searches. Read the fourth amendment, it is pretty clear. This means that the president does not have the power to order them and the congress does not have the power to permit them.

    • Re:Not illegal. (Score:5, Funny)

      by ackthpt (218170) * on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:14PM (#14611746) Homepage Journal
      Who says it was US Citizens ? I've not seen that anywhere. The president was granted this power by congress and congress knew all along about it. Nothing to see here, move along.

      Aren't you supposed to be preparing for your speech tonight?

      • Re:Not illegal. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by thule (9041) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:41PM (#14611979) Homepage
        From what I've read, there isn't much real knowledge of the NSA program. There is quite a bit of speculation though. We do not know if it was US Citizens, it may only be US Persons, or people simply living in the US and are not citizens. We do no know if it is real taps, or simple data mining. Data mining as in connecting the dots between known enemy phone numbers and connected calls inside the US. Since the administration apparently still used the FISA court in some cases, some have speculated that once enough dots were connected FISA would have to get involved so that calls could be monitored and recorded. Then again, why would it be illegal for the Commander in Chief to order taps on known enemies on the battlefield (the US is part of the battlefield)?

        For a history of how the US government dealt with communication during wars, read up on Ben Franklin on the NSA web site. Interesting reading.

    • Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by vodkamattvt (819309) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:14PM (#14611748) Homepage
      What is the alternative? Just let it happen? Wait until there *might* be an administration or government or judges that are more sympathetic to privacy?

      You cant just ignore something and hope it goes away, they are fighting the good fight within the system .. and are losing some ground, but I dont see anyone else trying as hard.

      • The Alternative (Score:5, Insightful)

        by EdwinBoyd (810701) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:33PM (#14611922)
        The Alternative is called picking your battles. The EFF is taking a Hail Mary pass approach to it's lawsuits. Sure taking on AT&T looks great and gets you a lot of press but you're just not going to win unless they make a huge tactical error.

        Instead you take a page from the *IAA Big Book o' Lawsuits. Go after the bottom of the food chain (Grokster anyone?). Find cases where smaller independant or regional telecoms/isps have given up data, and go after them, building precedent to use for later cases.

    • Excuse me? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by StefanJ (88986) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:15PM (#14611769) Homepage Journal
      Do nothing. Roll over. Keep quiet. Don't stick your neck out. Hunker down. Give up. Deal with it. Surrender. Comply.

      Is that what you'd recommend in the face of arrogance and tyranny?

      • Re:Excuse me? (Score:5, Funny)

        by waynemcdougall (631415) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:32PM (#14611918) Homepage

        Do nothing. Roll over. Keep quiet. Don't stick your neck out. Hunker down. Give up. Deal with it. Surrender. Comply.

        Is that what you'd recommend in the face of arrogance and tyranny?

        Uh, no, I'd recommend:

        click...I, for one, welcome our warrantless, wire-tapping overlords...hello, hello, is this thing on, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I SAID I can be useful in rounding up fellow slashdotters to slave in your undeground Echelon data store....click

        • I think it's more of the (Score:5, Interesting)

          by IAAP (937607) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:33PM (#14611926)
          "if you're doing nothing wrong, then you have nothing to worry about" mentality. I have heard this come out some relatively educated people's (college) mouths. Unfortunately, a lot of people have complete trust in the Government (US Citizens) and they don't remember the abuses of Gov. power in the past: McCarthy (sp?), Hoover and the FBI, Nixon, etc... Nor do they remember abuses of Government power by other Governments.

          It's kind of sad. I once had a Biz Law class and when the prof (JD) asked the class if the folks who are arrested for "terrorism" deserve due process, the only people who raised their hands were the Naturalized citizens and me - born 'N raised AMerican - Fuck Yeah! The prof asked the few who raised their hands what their background was - that's how we knew they were naturalized. Sad.

          • "if you're doing nothing wrong, then you have noth (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Andrew Tanenbaum (896883) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:57PM (#14612109)
            The "If you're doing nothing wrong, then you have nothing to worry about" position is completely correct, but you would be foolish to apply this maxim to any living person. Everyone does things wrong, everyone has something to hide, and everyone is a criminal. It's time that we recognized this in our public discourse instead of pretending.

    • Do you think governmental abuses of power... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:16PM (#14611774)
      .. get better when nobody bothers to object?

      When has that ever happened?

      Laws against warrantless spying on US citizens exist for a reason. History demonstrates that when the government has this power, they don't just use it on terrorists. First they use it on terrorists, but then they use it on drug dealers. Next come child pornographers. After that, conventional pornographers. Then, "radical" artists and dissidents.

      Before long, they're spying on the modern-day heirs to the radical legacy of Martin Luther King and John Lennon.

    • Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ackthpt (218170) * on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:16PM (#14611778) Homepage Journal
      Someone, please, stop the EFF before it's too late. I know they might think of these things as a "why not, let's give it a shot and see what happens" deal, but these trials and the EFF's continued losses are going to be a serious impact on ALL of our futures. I know, I get a chuckle too after seeing the latest story about how they've been laughed out of court, again, and see how riled up people get over it, but this needs to stop now. Our rights, and our (US citizens) futures may depend on it.

      All that is necessary for evil to succeed is good men do nothing.

      I'd rather they kept plugging away, regardless of losses. If there's one less soldier on your side, it's all the more likely the other side will prevail.

    • Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by btempleton (149110) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:55PM (#14612093) Homepage
      Ok, so I didn't comment when slashdot linked to the troll at the Register who likes to berate the EFF with false claims that we lose all the time, but since they are simply not true, it would be nice if people would check into that before repeating them, ok? This poster seems to claim there was some sort of big recent loss by the EFF, which is similar in pattern to the troll articles that cited lost cases that were not by the EFF to support the strange idea the EFF loses all the time. (There was a recent loss in case case personally brought and funded by John Gilmore, an EFF board member, in which the EFF itself had no involvement, and I presume that's what's being alluded to here.)

      Bad enough I'm feeding the troll here, but please, don't repeat the trolls, that gets them really excited.

    • Re:What ever happened to ... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Wah (30840) on Tuesday January 31 2006, @07:36PM (#14611944) Homepage Journal
      Immigrants?
      WASHINGTON - A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come to the attention of the U.S. military.

      A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting as a "threat" and one of more than 1,500 "suspicious incidents" across the country over a recent 10-month period.
      [full story [msn.com]]

      Jeez, a couple weeks of Doublespeak ("terrorist surviellance program") and a whole bunch of people forget what the hubbub is all about.

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