AP NewsBreak: SF reviews contracts with AT&T over domestic spying - By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, July 11, 2006 (07-11) 14:02 PDT San Francisco (AP) -- City officials are investigating AT&T's alleged cooperation with the National Security Agency and considering possible "consequences" the company could face in its extensive municipal contracts here if it is violating civil liberties, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. "If what I'm reading is true, I've got some serious problems as a San Franciscan, as a taxpayer and as mayor," Newsom said in interview with The Associated Press. "And I don't like it." A federal lawsuit filed by Internet privacy advocate Electronic Frontier Foundation accuses the telecommunications giant of illegally cooperating with the NSA to make communications on AT&T networks available to the spy agency without warrants. According to the lawsuit, AT&T allowed the NSA to install data.m.ining equipment in secret rooms at AT&T offices in San Francisco and a handful of other cities. Last month, the government urged a federal judge to dismiss the suit, saying it threatens to reveal state secrets. The judge's decision is pending. Newsom said he has asked City Attorney Dennis Herrera to conduct "fact-finding" on the matter. But the mayor also said he has completed his own compilation of "all of our current business relationships the city has with AT&T." That review, which includes expiration dates and other obligations, "may be suggestive that if we conclude that this is sincerely problematic, there may be a desire to not just make a symbolic statement of opposition, but to make a substantive one." The mayor said he did not know the value of AT&T's contracts with San Francisco. Nor would he provide a timetable for completion of the city attorney's probe. "I recognize the ability, (from) a local perspective, to perhaps have a little more influence because we do have a strong relationship with AT&T and I'd like to continue that," he said. "But I also think it's a two-way street," Newsom said. "If you're going do business with us, and San Francisco always has, we say, please help represent the values of the people that are actually purchasing those goods and services, meaning the taxpayers of this city." The city attorney probably has the power to subpoena, Newsom said, adding that he did not know for sure. If true, that would mean the city might have the power to learn details of the program that have not been publicly disclosed. [snip] URL: <http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/07/11/ financial/f140225D55.DTL> Weblog at: http://weblog.warpspeed.com ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature which had a name of signature.asc]