The NSA programme came to light in December, when the New York
Times reported that shortly after 9/11, the President had
authorised the agency to intercept telephone and internet
communications inside the US without the authorisation of any
court.
According to the EFF, it has since become clear that the NSA
program has been intercepting and analysing the communications of
millions of US citizens, with the help of the country's largest
phone and internet companies, including AT&T.
This, says the EFF, breaches both the privacy of AT&T
customers and existing communications privacy laws.
"The NSA programme is apparently the biggest fishing expedition
ever devised, scanning millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls
and emails for 'suspicious' patterns, and it's the collaboration of
US telecom companies like AT&T that makes it possible," said
EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston.
In the lawsuit, filed yesterday, the EFF alleges that AT&T,
in addition to allowing the NSA direct access to the phone and
internet communications passing over its network, has given the
government unfettered access to its over 300 terabyte "Daytona"
database of caller information – one of the largest databases in
the world.
According to EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl, "Congress has set
up strong laws protecting the privacy of your communications,
strictly limiting when telephone and internet companies can subject
your phone calls to government scrutiny.”
"The companies that have betrayed their customers' trust by
illegally handing the NSA direct access to their networks and
databases must be brought to account. AT&T needs to put a sign
on its door that reads, 'Come Back With a Warrant,'" he added.
The suit seeks class action status, an injunction against
AT&T’s participation in the program and damages.
While the EFF suit is the first to target a company for its
involvement in the programme, other rights groups have already
filed suit against the US Administration.
The American Civil Liberties Union, together with a group of
prominent journalists, scholars, attorneys, and other national
non-profit organisations – all of whom frequently communicate by
phone and email with people in the Middle East – filed their own
action on 17th January.
The group believes that the programme violates Americans’ rights
to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of
the Constitution.
The group also charges that that the programme violates the
Constitution because, in signing an order allowing the
surveillance, President Bush exceeded his authority under
separation of powers principles.
Congress has enacted two statutes, the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act and Title III of the federal criminal code, which
are “the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance … and the
interception of domestic wire, oral, and electronic communications
may be conducted,” says the ACLU.
While President Bush has defended his actions, explaining that
he was authorised to grant such an order by both the Constitution
and a Congressional measure that gave him powers to fight
terrorism, the ACLU does not agree.
As ACLU Executive Director Anthony D Romero advised at the time
of filing the suit, “President Bush may believe he can authorise
spying on Americans without judicial or Congressional approval, but
this program is illegal and we intend to put a stop to it”.
“The current surveillance of Americans is a chilling assertion
of presidential power that has not been seen since the days of
Richard Nixon,” he warned.
By coincidence, ABC News reported this week that President
Bush's approval rating among the American public – with just 42%
approving of his work – is the worst for a president entering his
sixth year in office since Nixon was damaged by the Watergate
scandal.
