AT&T

Corporate PACs Donated $174 Million to Lawmakers Who Attempted to Overturn 2020 Election

| Importance: 8/10

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) reported in August 2025 that over 2,000 corporate and industry group PACs have donated more than $174 million to members of the ‘Sedition Caucus’—the 147 lawmakers who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election, …

Koch Industries American Crystal Sugar AT&T Corporate PACs Sedition Caucus systematic-corruption corporate-influence election-integrity insurrection
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AT&T partners with Carbyne as authorized reseller, integrating Israeli surveillance tech into national telecom infrastructure

| Importance: 9/10

AT&T announced a strategic partnership with Carbyne enabling the telecommunications giant to resell Carbyne’s comprehensive 911 surveillance platform to public safety agencies nationwide, dramatically accelerating deployment of Israeli Unit 8200-developed technology across US emergency …

AT&T Carbyne Ehud Barak AT&T Ventures carbyne att surveillance-technology next-generation-911 israeli-intelligence +3 more
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Net Neutrality Repeal Officially Takes Effect, Permitting ISPs to Throttle, Block, and Prioritize Content for Payment

| Importance: 9/10

The FCC’s “Restoring Internet Freedom” order officially takes effect, eliminating the Title II net neutrality protections that had prohibited internet service providers from blocking, throttling, or creating paid “fast lanes” for content delivery. Nearly six months …

Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai Comcast Corporation Verizon Communications AT&T net-neutrality fcc telecommunications regulatory-capture ajit-pai +1 more
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FCC Under Ajit Pai Repeals Net Neutrality in 3-2 Party-Line Vote

| Importance: 9/10

The FCC, led by Chairman Ajit Pai, votes 3-2 along party lines to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules, marking a major victory for telecommunications industry interests over consumer protections. Pai, a former Verizon attorney appointed by Trump, argued the regulations represented government …

Ajit Pai Donald Trump Verizon Communications Mignon Clyburn Comcast +2 more regulatory-capture fcc net-neutrality ajit-pai telecommunications +2 more
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FCC Under Ajit Pai Repeals Net Neutrality in 3-2 Party-Line Vote

| Importance: 9/10

The FCC, led by Chairman Ajit Pai, votes 3-2 along party lines to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules, marking a major victory for telecommunications industry interests over consumer protections. Pai, a former Verizon attorney appointed by Trump, argued the regulations represented government …

Ajit Pai Donald Trump Verizon Communications Mignon Clyburn Comcast +2 more regulatory-capture fcc net-neutrality ajit-pai telecommunications +2 more
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FCC Repeals Net Neutrality Regulations Under Industry Pressure

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 along party lines to repeal Obama-era net neutrality regulations, eliminating critical protections that prevented internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating against web traffic. The decision, championed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, shifts …

Ajit Pai Mignon Clyburn Federal Communications Commission Verizon Comcast +2 more regulatory-capture net-neutrality fcc telecom internet-freedom +2 more
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Essential Consultants Receives Over $2M from Multiple Corporate Entities and Oligarch-Linked Firms

| Importance: 9/10

Cohen’s shell company Essential Consultants receives complex network of payments: $500,000 from Columbus Nova linked to Russian oligarch Vekselberg, $1.2M from Novartis, $200k from AT&T, and $150,000 from Korea Aerospace Industries, turning hush money vehicle into a multi-million dollar …

Essential Consultants LLC Columbus Nova Viktor Vekselberg Novartis AT&T +2 more shell-company russian-money oligarch-payments influence-peddling essential-consultants +2 more
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Reuters: AT&T nurtured and bankrolled OANN; founder says AT&T asked for a conservative network

| Importance: 9/10

Court records and testimony reported by Reuters show AT&T played a pivotal role in launching and sustaining One America News Network (OANN), at times accounting for the vast majority of its revenue via carriage deals. OANN’s founder testified AT&T executives sought a conservative …

AT&T One America News Network Robert Herring Sr. Donald Trump DirecTV oann att carriage-fees media-economics conservative-media +1 more
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FCC Passes First Net Neutrality Rules with Major Wireless Exemption in 3-2 Party-Line Vote

| Importance: 8/10

The Federal Communications Commission approves the Open Internet Order by a 3-2 party-line vote, establishing the first formal net neutrality regulations but with significant weaknesses that would prove legally vulnerable. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s order established three core rules: …

Federal Communications Commission Julius Genachowski Comcast Corporation Verizon Communications AT&T net-neutrality fcc telecommunications regulatory-capture deregulation
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FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Passes, Granting Telecom Immunity

| Importance: 9/10

Congress passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, fundamentally expanding the president’s warrantless surveillance authority while granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the NSA’s illegal domestic wiretapping program since 2001. The Senate voted …

U.S. Congress George W. Bush Senate House of Representatives Telecommunications Companies +2 more fisa-amendments telecom-immunity warrantless-surveillance congressional-legislation section-702 +2 more
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NSA Launches MAINWAY Database for Mass Metadata Collection

| Importance: 9/10

The NSA began operating MAINWAY, a massive database system built to support the STELLARWIND surveillance program, collecting telephone metadata from major U.S. carriers including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Built in urgent haste after September 11, MAINWAY became what sources described as …

NSA AT&T Verizon T-Mobile FBI +2 more mainway metadata-collection mass-surveillance stellarwind telecommunications +2 more
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AT&T Grants NSA Direct Access to Internet Backbone Infrastructure

| Importance: 9/10

In September 2001, AT&T established a secret partnership with the NSA to provide direct access to its internet backbone infrastructure, creating unprecedented mass surveillance capabilities that bypass traditional legal protections. This infrastructure enabled the systematic collection and …

Bush Administration AT&T NSA surveillance telecommunications nsa corporate-cooperation internet-backbone +3 more
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