The National Security Agency (NSA) has deputized the nation’s largest telecommmunications companies in an effort to datamine and analyze the phone calls of virtually every American. So says Leslie Cauley in a USA Today report. While the contents of the calls are not being monitored, as is the case with the White House’s warrantless wiretapping program, AT&T, BellSouth, and Verizon have all provided telephone records to the NSA since shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The NSA has used the records to compile a massive database.
According to Cauley’s piece, “the data are used for ‘social network analysis’” to study calling patterns and how terrorist networks communicate. Air Force General Michael Hayden, President Bush’s nominee to become the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), likely ran the NSA program. Hayden was the head of the NSA from March 1999 to April 2005.
Interestingly, Qwest declined to participate in the program, referring the NSA to the FISA court or the US attorney general. Imagine that, Qwest a hero of civil liberties.
Well, not exactly. According to a Wired 27B Stroke 6 account, “federal telecommunications law imposes harsh financial penalties on disclosing calling information without a proper subpoena or letter from the attorney general. Fines can be as high as $130,000 a day per violation.” Section 222 of the Commmunications Act prohibits telephone companies from disclosing customer calling information. Unfortunately, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) ammended the Communications Act by striking Section 222.
Ryan Singel on Wired‘s 27B Stroke 6 has an annotated version of President Bush’s statement on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press is reporting that the government has dropped its inquiry in to President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program because—get this—the NSA refused to grant the Justice Department’s lawyers the appropriate security clearance.
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