The NSA and your phone
This is insane. From USA Today:
The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth. The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. "It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added.
Call Elton Gallegly - tell him what you think about the administration secretly collecting your personal information, illegally wiretapping phones, and violating the FISA courts and the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States repeatedly. Call Elton now: (202) 225-5811 in DC, (805) 497-2224 in Thousand Oaks.
More from the article:
One major telecommunications company declined to participate in the program: Qwest.
According to sources familiar with the events, Qwest's CEO at the time, Joe Nacchio, was deeply troubled by the NSA's assertion that Qwest didn't need a court order — or approval under FISA — to proceed. Adding to the tension, Qwest was unclear about who, exactly, would have access to its customers' information and how that information might be used.
Financial implications were also a concern, the sources said. Carriers that illegally divulge calling information can be subjected to heavy fines. The NSA was asking Qwest to turn over millions of records. The fines, in the aggregate, could have been substantial.
The NSA told Qwest that other government agencies, including the FBI, CIA and DEA, also might have access to the database, the sources said. As a matter of practice, the NSA regularly shares its information — known as "product" in intelligence circles — with other intelligence groups. Even so, Qwest's lawyers were troubled by the expansiveness of the NSA request, the sources said.
The NSA, which needed Qwest's participation to completely cover the country, pushed back hard.
Trying to put pressure on Qwest, NSA representatives pointedly told Qwest that it was the lone holdout among the big telecommunications companies. It also tried appealing to Qwest's patriotic side: In one meeting, an NSA representative suggested that Qwest's refusal to contribute to the database could compromise national security, one person recalled.
In addition, the agency suggested that Qwest's foot-dragging might affect its ability to get future classified work with the government. Like other big telecommunications companies, Qwest already had classified contracts and hoped to get more.
Unable to get comfortable with what NSA was proposing, Qwest's lawyers asked NSA to take its proposal to the FISA court. According to the sources, the agency refused.
The NSA's explanation did little to satisfy Qwest's lawyers. "They told (Qwest) they didn't want to do that because FISA might not agree with them," one person recalled. For similar reasons, this person said, NSA rejected Qwest's suggestion of getting a letter of authorization from the U.S. attorney general's office. A second person confirmed this version of events.
Got that? Qwest said to the NSA, show us this is legal by going to the FISA court or the Attorney General. The NSA refused because they know this is ILLEGAL. It further threatened Qwest with the loss of government contracts if they don't play along. Where does all this stop? It stops when enough people call our elected representatives and tell them that they won't stand for this crap anymore.
Call Elton Gallegly now: (202) 225-5811 in DC, (805) 497-2224 in Thousand Oaks.
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Comments (5)
Cryminy, what's next? I heard about this this morning and was horrified to think that someone knows for certain now about my prank calls to Tom Delay's house asking if he is ready for his spanking. Seriously, though, I have left word with Gallegly's office. This is too important an issue to let pass by, or joke about.
Comment #1 Posted by: Lisa Snider | May 11, 2006 05:43 PM
on a highly related note, the move to un-free the Internet is in full swing, with providers like AT&T (clever new meanings for those letters, anyone?) and Verizon lobbying Congress to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. when you call Gallegly, ask him to protect our Internet freedoms as well as our telephone ones. Or, you can sign the petition to Congress at http://civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet/?id=7449-633293-dGrjGullaVAKMJhrrCVuqg&t=1
you can also dump Verizon (pay the damn "early termination fee" and be done with it) and switch to Working Assets Wireless at http://www.workingassetswireless.com
Comment #2 Posted by: evan | May 11, 2006 07:33 PM
Tyler,
A few new posts for you on the NSA Surveillance Program (including legal precedents):
NSA Surveillance Watch: President Bush Defends Scope of NSA Surveillance
Scroll down for additonal links.
Flap
Comment #3 Posted by: Flap | May 13, 2006 10:11 AM
Hi Flap - thanks for coming on over from Flapsblog.com and posting. To the readers of The Ojai Post, Flap runs a decidedly right-leaning blog, and he and I occasionally engage in heated yet respectful conversations.
Flap has been arguing that the latest NSA revelations are completely legal and necessary to protect us from terrorists. Obviously I disagree. Anyone wishing to participate in the conversation here or on Flap's blog, please dive right in.
Flap's latest argument: nothing to see here folks, its old news and Bush himself says its not illegal. Flap, when not a dentist is a judge - he is sure that the lawsuits now being filed against Verizon, etc. have no merit.
I'm really looking forward to next week, when we get Flap's comments on this: "A former intelligence officer for the National Security Agency said Thursday he plans to tell Senate staffers next week that unlawful activity occurred at the agency under the supervision of Gen. Michael Hayden beyond what has been publicly reported, while hinting that it might have involved the illegal use of space-based satellites and systems to spy on U.S. citizens. Russell Tice, who worked on what are known as "special access programs," has wanted to meet in a closed session with members of Congress and their staff since President Bush announced in December that he had secretly authorized the NSA to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens without a court order. In an interview late Thursday, Tice said the Senate Armed Services Committee finally asked him to meet next week in a secure facility on Capitol Hill."
Comment #4 Posted by: Anonymous | May 13, 2006 11:17 AM
A Message From Working Assets' President
In light of new revelations about the big telecommunications carriers' handing over domestic calling records to the National Security Agency, I am writing to let you know where Working Assets stands on the NSA's increasingly alarming activities.
Working Assets believes that the warrantless monitoring of phone conversations ordered by the Bush administration is illegal and unacceptable. We also unequivocally oppose the disclosure of domestic calling records to the NSA by our nation's telecommunications providers. As reported yesterday in USA Today1, AT&T, Bell South and Verizon sold customer call records to the NSA. Working Assets would never, under any circumstances, give (let alone sell) records to the Bush administration without a warrant or court order.
In fact, as Working Assets' President, I recently signed on to an amicus brief supporting the ACLU's law suit against the National Security Agency. We are the only telephone company participating in this lawsuit.
Working Assets has never been approached by any government agency seeking our help in illegally accessing the content of conversations by our customers, and we would refuse any such request. We are actively engaged in opposing warrantless monitoring, in pushing for full disclosure by the government regarding the scope of the monitoring, and in protecting citizens from intrusive and illegal exercises of governmental power. Additionally, we are fighting Bush's nomination of General Michael V. Hayden, the architect of the NSA's illegal wiretapping program, to head the CIA.
If you are a member of AT&T (including Cingular and SBC), Bell South or Verizon, your telecom company willingly sold the private telephone records of American citizens to the Bush administration's illegal domestic spying operation. Please contact your provider now, and let them know that this is simply unacceptable.
Contact AT&T: http://www.consumer.att.com/contact?source=body
Contact Verizon: http://www22.verizon.com/CustomerSupport/ContactUs/
Contact BellSouth: http://www.bellsouth.com/contactus/index.html
You can also find out more about Working Assets Wireless and Working Assets Long Distance at http://www.workingassets.com.
You may also be interested in a new book we are publishing, entitled How Would A Patriot Act?, a compelling analysis of how the NSA's wiretapping fits into a larger scheme by the Bush Administration to violate Constitutional restrictions on executive authority in an unprecedented manner. Click here to find out more about the book.
As a telecommunications company, it is our special privilege to facilitate communications among our fellow citizens, to enable conversations on matters personal, commercial, social and political. It is therefore our special obligation to oppose warrantless interference into those communications, whatever the government's justification may be. We will keep you posted on new developments as they arise.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Michael Kieschnick, President
Working Assets
Comment #5 Posted by: evan | May 15, 2006 07:22 AM