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.
Key Actors
Sources (7)
- Hepting v. AT&T - EFF Lawsuit Documentation
- The NSA's Hidden Spy Hubs in Eight U.S. Cities
- The Close Collaboration Between the NSA and AT&T
- AT&T Cooperated Extensively with NSA in Sharing Phone and Email Records
- How AT&T Helped the NSA Spy on Millions
- A Trail of Evidence Leading to AT&T's Partnership with the NSA (2018-07-01)
- NSA Spying and Telecommunications Infrastructure (2006-12-01)
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