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CIA Pays AT&T Millions To Voluntarily Provide Call Data
First time accepted submitter binarstu writes "The New York Times reports that 'The C.I.A. is paying AT&T more than $10 million a year to assist with overseas counterterrorism investigations by exploiting the company's vast database of phone records, which includes Americans' international calls, according to government officials. The cooperation is conducted under a voluntary contract, not under subpoenas or court orders compelling the company to participate, according to the officials.'"
American Tattle Tale
I had no idea AT&T was such a cheap date. I would have assumed that the 10 million might cover the fee for transferring all those heavy packets through the tubes to NSA HQ, with the data and analysis itself ringing in at at least a factor of ten greater.
Also, given that AT&T has slightly over 100 million wireless customers, never mind all the Ma Bell copper customers, apparently the volume discounts on customer information are pretty good...
Contracts with the government to supply telecommunications without needing to worry about competition?
Free date nights with top rung escorts when they're in town for meetings?
Free big-data analytics?
$10 million for the bottom line of a company like AT&T is chicken feed. What's really going on here?
Does the CIA still raise that money by selling drugs into the US like it was caught doing previously, or do they just sell weapons on the black market to "Axis of evil" type countries. Such a credible and upstanding extra-govermentmtal organization, a shining beacon for protecting democracy... *sigh*.
Sign me up, AT&T !! This exemplifies what it means to be an American corporation !!
Ok. I'll bite. "Pays" ..... "Voluntarily". So that's an inducement right?
"It's expensive, stupid, last only seconds - but makes your mouth hurt for days - it's BEE IN A BALLOON" - Kibo 3/1/95
America's IT companies are today's modern-day equivalent to the pre-WW2 German Industrialists. More than happy to clamp diigital handcuffs on their own customers for a few $$$, shove them into electronic cattle cars and ship them off to Information Death Camps.
Is it even legal for AT&T to just hand over personal data, to anyone who asks for it? Don't you guys over in the US have privacy laws, preventing or at the very least tightly regulating this kind of data transfer?
Otherwise, why would anyone ever bother with subpoenas and so to get such information?
Personal data is valuable. If AT&T can freely sell it to the CIA, what's stopping them to sell to other companies, for use as marketing purposes, or maybe even for identity theft purposes?
You pay someone to provide you data voluntarily -> you buy data
Now that we know AT&T is on the take; Now that we know CIA is using our tax monies to bribe a PRIVATE COMPANIES so to SPY ON US, are they going to cook up even more harebrained excuses and then try to pin them to Edward Snowden ?
Can't wait to see the astroturfers crawling out from their hideouts with their brainless accusations ...
Calling Mr. Cold Fjord ...
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
What on earth makes you think data about the customers' activity belongs to the customers? You must not have been paying attention to the telecom or computer industries for the past 15 years.
[Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
Ah, but the trick is that, as interpreted, this is actually AT&T's own data collected as part of their business.
The logic goes that since AT&T owns the wires, and needs this information to do billing and monitor their networks, then that data actually belongs to AT&T. And since that data belongs to AT&T (so goes the theory) you don't get a vote in AT&T giving over 'their' data even if 'their' data happens to be about you.
Sure you did, you voluntarily used their system, and in the process implicitly provided them with it.
All there in the Terms of Service, and neatly upheld by the courts.
Welcome to the Brave New World, where if you want privacy you are free to not use the phone system, the internet, the banking system, go outside your house, or interact with people lest details of what you do becomes 'property' of a corporation who is free to voluntarily assist intelligence agencies.
Grand, aint it?
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
...that AT&T couldn't refuse.
Even if AT&T were inclined to say No Thanks, does anyone believe that answer would be accepted?
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
there is no accountability for the government, the US Govt and its three letter bureaucracies degenerate in to gangs of criminals, you can bet they milked that information for all its worth, i bet valuable data went to their criminal friends on wallstreet, the US Govt has degenerated in to a kleptocratic gang of fascists that are liars, thieves and murderers. and they know they can get away with it because there is no accountability
This is one more step in the breakdown of our society. When the average person sees that powerful people are not subject to the law, they start to wonder why they themselves should be subject to the law. When they see people lying, cheating and stealing to get ahead, and it working, they conclude that only chumps play by the rules. When they perceive that there is one set of rules for the rich and powerful, and another for everyone else, they lose respect for the system.
These attitudes are a cancer on our society. When trust and respect break down, all that is left to order society is force. When people can't trust the authorities, they become an adversary. This won't end well.
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
Word on the street is that AT&T billings for intelligence related activities were around $2 billion a year total, between FBI NSA, CIA and other security organizations.