MetaFilter posts tagged with NSA and ATT

Room 641A

homunculus — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:05:51 -0800

The Secret Room: EFF Designer's Cartoon on Illegal Spying. [Via] Appeals Court Punts on AT&T Spying Case Appeal Rights Group Suing AT&T for Spying Will Sue Government Too

Improved Billboard Touts AT&T and NSA Collaboration

homunculus — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:00:15 -0800

"The Billboard Liberation Front today announced a major new advertising improvement campaign executed on behalf of clients AT&T and the National Security Agency. Focusing on billboards in the San Francisco area, this improvement action is designed to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants." [Via Threat Level.]

Hold Please

device55 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:38:47 -0800

Joel Johnson of Boing Boing shows up to The Hugh Thompson Show to discuss gadgets but chooses a different topic

Yesterday, I was invited to talk about gadgets onThe Hugh Thompson Show, a television-style talk show sponsored exclusively by AT&T for distribution on the online AT&T Tech Channel. I eventually did talk about gadgets, but in light of AT&T's shocking and baffling announcement of their plans to filter the internet, I thought that a much more interesting and important topic.

Surveillance state in progress

baphomet — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:46:40 -0800

In 2006, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T for cooperating with an NSA wiretapping program that created a "black room" in their San Fransisco office, which operated hardware that captured the entire stream of data travelling through AT&T's system (allegedly 2.5 gigabits of data/second). The details of this arrangement were revealed by Mark Klein, a 22-year employee with AT&T who stumbled across documents detailing the program in 2004. The lawsuit, which alleges that AT&T illegally cooperated with the NSA's domestic spying program, is facing a major hurdle in the Senate right now as Senators have reached a tentative agreement to give the company legal immunity from actions relating to their cooperation. This story previously on MeFi. Note that according to Mr. Klein in the interview, no other telecom companies approached by the NSA complied with this request, citing concerns over the legality of the program. Says Mr. Klein: "If they've done something massively illegal and unconstitutional -- well, they should suffer the consequences. It's not my place to feel bad for them. They made their bed, they have to lie in it." I rather agree.

9/11 changed everything? And the NSA is only looking at overseas and terrorist-related phone and internet records?

amberglow — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 12:04:00 -0800

to gather information about Americans' phone records --... the NSA had approached the company (Qwest) about participating in a warrantless surveillance program to gather information about Americans' phone records. ...Nacchio's account, which places the NSA proposal at a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, suggests that the Bush administration was seeking to enlist telecommunications firms in programs without court oversight before the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The Sept. 11 attacks have been cited by the government as the main impetus for its warrantless surveillance efforts. ... -- The Administration's crimes and illegal spying on all of us and Quest's punishment for not going along with their plans.

You had to live -- did live, from the habit that became instinct and the assumption that every sound you made was overheard.

homunculus — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:33:17 -0800

For Your Eyes Only? Allegations that the government is reading your e-mails, with the help of AT&T. The latest episode of NOW did a good piece on the NSA's domestic surveillance program (previously discussed here.) It can be viewed on their website. Meanwhile, Canadian human rights attorney Maureen Webb has written a new book on the scope of government surveillance, and found that the use of sophisticated methods to search for terrorists is not identifying the right suspects.

Your world, delivered to the NSA

homunculus — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 21:59:02 -0800

AT&T Ducks Accountability. Lawsuits, Questions Follow NSA Surveillance Approval.

AT&T-NSA documents leaked

Ryvar — Mon, 22 May 2006 05:24:48 -0800

Wired News has obtained a copy of a file detailing AT&T's involvement with the NSA that was sealed in the EFF's class-action lawsuit against AT&T. At 2AM EST this morning they have published that file on their site for anyone to download (this is the fixed link, the one on Wired is currently broken).[via]

Orwell was an optimist

i_am_a_Jedi — Wed, 17 May 2006 10:02:56 -0800

Wired article about the hardware/technology the NSA is allegedly using at AT&T's San Franscisco switching office to eavesdrop on our internet communications. The Electronic Freedom Foundation is suing AT&T over it. The administration doesn't want that to happen. Previous MeFi|Related ACLU case

EFF Whistleblower Wiretapping Suit Halted by Nuclear Option

squirrel — Tue, 02 May 2006 19:47:00 -0800

Bush administration signals intent to invoke the obscure state secrets privilege in order to stop the EFF lawsuit against AT&T, (previously discussed here) for providing the NSA direct access all 312 terabytes of its customers' telephone and internet traffic since 2001, (including those Good Vibrations charges you racked up). In a nutshell, according to legal experts, invoking the privilege kills the judicial process dead: the courthouse doors are closed, and there's nothing but grownup stuff to see here; move along, kids.

AT&T-->NSA. WTF? -EFF

jikel_morten — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 07:27:06 -0800

EFF Accuses AT&T of diverting internet traffic to NSA. "More than just threatening individuals' privacy, AT&T's apparent choice to give the government secret, direct access to millions of ordinary Americans' Internet communications is a threat to the Constitution itself. We are asking the Court to put a stop to it now." More details from the EFF.