[Clips] EFF: AT&T forwards all Internet traffic into NSA

[R. A. Hettinga]

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  Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
  Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 11:59:43 -0400
  To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
  From: "R. A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: [Clips] EFF: AT&T forwards all Internet traffic into NSA
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<http://www.spamdailynews.com/publish/printer_ATT_forwards_all_Internet_traffic_into_NSA_says_EFF.asp>

  >From Spam Daily News

  NEWS
  EFF: AT&T forwards all Internet traffic into NSA
  Posted on April 07, 2006

  The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on Wednesday filed the legal
  briefs and evidence supporting its motion for a preliminary injunction in
  its class-action lawsuit against AT&T.

  After asking EFF to hold back the documents so that it could review them,
  the Department of Justice consented to EFF's filing them under seal -- a
  well-established procedure that prohibits public access and permits only
  the judge and the litigants to see the evidence.

  While not a party to the case, the government was concerned that even this
  procedure would not provide sufficient security and has represented to the
  Court that it is "presently considering whether and, if so, how it will
  participate in this case."

  "The evidence that we are filing supports our claim that AT&T is diverting
  Internet traffic into the hands of the NSA wholesale, in violation of
  federal wiretapping laws and the Fourth Amendment," said EFF Staff Attorney
  Kevin Bankston.

  "More than just threatening individuals' privacy, AT&T's apparent choice to
  give the government secret, direct access to millions of ordinary
  Americans' Internet communications is a threat to the Constitution itself.
  We are asking the Court to put a stop to it now," said Bankston.

  EFF's evidence regarding AT&T's dragnet surveillance of its networks
  includes a declaration by Mark Klein, a retired AT&T telecommunications
  technician, and several internal AT&T documents. This evidence was
  bolstered and explained by the expert opinion of J. Scott Marcus, who
  served as Senior Technical Advisor for Internet Technology to the Federal
  Communications Commission from July 2001 until July 2005.

  The internal AT&T documents and portions of the supporting declarations
  have been submitted to the Court under a tentative seal, a procedure that
  allows AT&T five court days to explain to the Court why the information
  should be kept from the public.

  "The public deserves to know about AT&T's illegal program," said EFF Legal
  Director Cindy Cohn. "In an abundance of caution, we are providing AT&T
  with an opportunity to explain itself before this material goes on the
  public docket, but we believe that justice will ultimately require full
  disclosure."

  The NSA program came to light in December, when the New York Times reported
  that the President had authorized the agency to intercept telephone and
  Internet communications inside the United States without the authorization
  of any court.

  "Mark Klein is a true American hero," said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl.
  "He has bravely come forward with information critical for proving AT&T's
  involvement with the government's invasive surveillance program."

  In the lawsuit, EFF is representing the class of all AT&T residential
  customers nationwide. Working with EFF in the lawsuit are the law firms
  Traber & Voorhees, Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP and
  the Law Office of Richard R. Wiebe.

  RELATED:
  AT&T sued over NSA eavesdropping

  SOURCE: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)




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  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
  The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
  44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
  "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'