FUTILE WORK
  • Home
  • News
    • Articles Of Interest
    • Numbers
    • Life and Humanity
    • Quotes
    • Futile Updates
  • Curio
  • Archive
    • Dave McGowan
    • Document Archive
    • Multi Media
    • RSS Feeds
    • Time For A Laugh
  • Blog

Articles Of Interest

AT&T getting secret immunity from wiretapping laws for government surveillance

4/26/2013

 
By Joshua Kopstein on April 24, 2013 02:42 pm

Internal government documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Centerhave revealed that the US Department of Justice is secretly helping AT&T and other service providers evade wiretapping laws so that the US government can conduct surveillance on parts of their networks. The legal immunity comes from authorizations granted by the Justice Department through special "2511" letters that absolve carriers in the event that the surveillance is found to run afoul of federal law.

The authorization program began as a narrow cybersecurity effort to monitor government defense contractors, but has been expanded to cover critical infrastructure like energy, finance, and health care, CNET reports. Normally, the Wiretap Act prohibits such eavesdropping, unless it's necessary to the functioning of the service or unless the user gives his or her consent to be monitored. EPIC's executive director Mark Rotenberg says "Alarm bells should be going off."

But rather than changing the law, the secret authorizations simply allow the service provider to enter an agreement with the Justice Department ensuring that they won't be prosecuted. Besides AT&T, at least one other company appears to have taken part int he program, CenturyLink. Reached for comment by CNET, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, in part, "In order to protect privacy while safeguarding and securing cyberspace, DHS institutes layered privacy responsibilities throughout the department, embeds fair practice principles into cybersecurity programs and privacy compliance efforts, and fosters collaboration with cybersecurity partners."

It won't be the first time that AT&T cooperated so directly with law enforcement. It was given retroactive immunity for its role in NSA surveillance programs under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. That law was passed two years after AT&T technician Mark Klein revealed evidence that the telecom had cooperated with the NSA, installing routing equipment inside a secret room at a network hub in San Francisco.

Several court cases have attempted to challenge these surveillance activities, but so far none have resulted in a constitutional ruling. What's more, the secret 2511 authorizations may not even be necessary in the near future: if signed into law, CISPA, "would formally authorize the program," CNET reports.

AT&T, Verizon, and other service providers have unsurprisingly expressed their support for CISPA, while President Obama has threatened to veto the bill if adequate privacy protections aren't added. Whether or not he keeps his word, however, the leaked documents show that the ability of telecoms and the US government to intercept communications without a warrant or legal blowback is becoming increasingly entrenched.

This post previously omitted CenturyLink's involvement. It has also been updated to include comment from the DHS and clarification on CISPA.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/24/4261410/att-getting-secret-wiretapping-immunity-government-surveillance

jump to top | return to articles home

Comments are closed.
    Articles Home

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    October 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    May 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    May 2010
    April 2010
    May 2006
    December 2004
    October 2003
    June 2002
    September 2001
    February 2001
    February 1998

Main Pages

News
Curio
Archival
​Blog

New Here?

Updates
About
Site Map

Miscellany

​Contact
Disclaimer

Search

  • Home
  • News
    • Articles Of Interest
    • Numbers
    • Life and Humanity
    • Quotes
    • Futile Updates
  • Curio
  • Archive
    • Dave McGowan
    • Document Archive
    • Multi Media
    • RSS Feeds
    • Time For A Laugh
  • Blog