Electronic Frontier Foundation v AT&T
Civil Rights Sue Over Governments Alleged Surveillance
A civil liberties group sued AT&T Inc. for its alleged role in helping the National Security Agency spy on the phone calls and other communications of U.S. citizens without warrants. The class action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, seeks to stop the surveillance program that started shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks. It also seeks billions of dollars in damages.
The EFF claims the San Antonio-based telecommunications company not only provided direct access to its network that carries voice and data but also to its massive databases of stored telephone and Internet records that are updated constantly.
"Our main goal is to stop this invasion of privacy, prevent it from occurring again and make sure AT&T and all the other carriers understand there are going to be legal and economic consequences when they fail to follow the law," said an EFF staff attorney.
In its lawsuit, the EFF claims AT&T violated U.S. law and the privacy of its customers as part of the "massive and illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications." The group said it identified AT&T through news reports and its own investigation.
