AT&T sued over allegedly helping National Security Agency

AT&T sued over allegedly helping National Security Agency

US based telecom giants AT&T have been sued for their alleged role in helping out the National Security Agency in spying phone calls and other communications of U.S. citizens without warrants. The lawsuit has been filed in a U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

The group who has filed this lawsuit is the Electronic Frontier Foundation and they are further seeking rulings to stop this surveillance program that started shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks. They are also seeking billions of dollars in damages from the company.

The group is claiming that AT&T not only provided direct access to its network that carries voice and data but also to its massive databases of stored telephone and Internet records that are updated constantly.

Kevin Bankston, an EFF staff attorney said in a statement: “Our main goal is to stop this invasion of privacy, prevent it from occurring again and make sure AT&T and all the other carriers understand there are going to be legal and economic consequences when they fail to follow the law.”

In fact, the president of US, George Bush has also been massively criticized for taking this step which the lawmakers suggests goes beyond his powers as the head of the state. It would be interesting to see the outcome of this particular lawsuit.