Saturday, April 8, 2006
The California-based non-profit organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief on Wednesday claiming that AT&T has been illegally forwarding Internet traffic directly to the National Security Agency.
The EFF has asked that the forwarding be stopped immediately. According to EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankston, “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. 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.”
The motion was filed under seal allowing only the judge and litigants to view the complaint. The procedure allows AT&T five days to explain to the court their reasons for keeping the information from the public.
In the class action lawsuit, EFF is representing all AT&T residential customers nationwide.