AT&T Grants NSA Direct Access to Internet Backbone Infrastructure

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 analysis of millions of Americans’ communications without warrants. Documents reveal AT&T’s ’extreme willingness to help’ the NSA, sharing billions of phone and email records across domestic networks.