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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.
from the getting-caught-in-the-wrong-bed dept.
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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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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TLA truck overturns on the turnpike (Score:5, Funny)
Re:TLA truck overturns on the turnpike (Score:5, Funny)
How is this off topic? They couldn't have worked more alphabet-soup acronyms into the headline if they tried?
Well, maybe they could. Let's try rewriting the story:
19 acronyms, 5 abbreviations, etc.
Well, its certainly Acronym 2.0 compliant.
Parent
Yes! (Score:5, Funny)
It's about time EFF got back into the news! (Score:5, Interesting)
What'd they say? (Score:5, Funny)
"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)
OMG!
not the typical class action suit... (Score:5, Insightful)
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)
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)
Want to help? Join the EFF today! (Score:5)
Re:Not illegal. (Score:5, Informative)
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.
Parent
Nice, Except (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Not illegal. (Score:5, Funny)
Aren't you supposed to be preparing for your speech tonight?
Parent
Re:Not illegal. (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Parent
Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Parent
The Alternative (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Parent
Excuse me? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is that what you'd recommend in the face of arrogance and tyranny?
Parent
Re:Excuse me? (Score:5, Funny)
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
Parent
I think it's more of the (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Parent
"if you're doing nothing wrong, then you have noth (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Do you think governmental abuses of power... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Parent
Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Parent
Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Insightful)
Bad enough I'm feeding the troll here, but please, don't repeat the trolls, that gets them really excited.
Parent
Re:For the love of all that's good... (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:What ever happened to ... (Score:5, Informative)
Jeez, a couple weeks of Doublespeak ("terrorist surviellance program") and a whole bunch of people forget what the hubbub is all about.
Parent