NSA maybe snooping en masse via 8 AT&T locales
  • 6 years ago
FORT MEADE, MARYLAND — The U.S. National Security Agency used eight AT&T facilities across the country as part of a mass surveillance program, according to the Intercept.

According to the Intercept, the National Security Agency may be using AT&T buildings across the U.S. as part of a mass surveillance program called FAIRVIEW.

The Intercept identified AT&T facilities in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington and New York city. The website reports that these locations process AT&T customer data, as well as large amounts of information from other internet providers inside the U.S. and abroad.

The FAIRVIEW program, in which AT&T is the sole member, reportedly gives the NSA access to international communications cables, routers and switches. According to the New York Times, this provided the agency access to billions of metadata records, as well as texts, emails and phone calls.

An AT&T spokesperson told the Intercept the company was "required by law to provide information to government and law enforcement."

The NSA told the website they couldn't confirm or deny their reporting, but said they are "bound by both policy and law to protect U.S. persons' privacy and civil liberties."