T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless not supplying data to NSA
by Marc Perton 
posted May 12th 2006 at 9:19AM
If you make most of your calls via cellphone, there's a good chance your call records aren't being provided to the National Security Agency -- if, that is, you're using Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile and most of your calls are between you and other cellphone users. Both companies say they haven't supplied data to the government, with T-Mob specifically stating that it was not involved "in any NSA program for warrant-less surveillance and acquisition of call records, and T-Mobile has not provided any such access to communications or customer records." If you're a Cingular or Sprint Nextel customer, well, it looks like you're in the same boat as the vast majority of landline users: those companies refused to deny participation in the NSA program.
Filed under: ATT, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bill @ Jun 9th 2008 10:34PM
You really don't have a clue.
Follow the link and find out
what the Government can
REALLY do right now.
http://www.nsawatch.org/eaves101.html
Thought @ May 12th 2006 9:29AM
Great...so now the terrorists know which carriers to use...
James @ May 12th 2006 11:05AM
Most of them use prepaid cells anyway.
lach @ May 12th 2006 11:41AM
I love that people call this a "program." It's not a damn program, and you CAN'T opt out. Ever heard of ECHELON? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON] They (the NSA) have been doing this for AGES, and they will continue to do so violating your 4th ammendment rights. Oh well, at least we're "safer" now.
This is 100% P.R. by those cellular companies, and it's terribly dishonest. Shame on you T-Mobile, I expect this from Verizon, but not you.
Nick @ May 12th 2006 12:01PM
Yeah, last I checked the cell towers use the infrastructure of the local telcos which don't seem to have a problem with sharing with the NSA which somewhat makes this pointless. I work for Cingular and I know some of our towers in my area run on Verizon wired lines and some run on QWest. So the real question isn't "Does Cingular share info" but "Do Verizon wired and QWest share info?"
Joe @ May 12th 2006 12:26PM
Ahh. Alas it really doesn't matter that this has been exposed. They're like cockroaches. They'll scatter, but regroup in greater numbers somewhere else. Kill the exposed program an quietly transfer everyone to a new secret program that does the same thing...oh and with a bigger budget.
minus_273 @ May 12th 2006 12:37PM
#3 " Ever heard of ECHELON?"
yeah, can you prove it exists? do you have a shred of evidence outside of conspiracy theories? I've heard of UFOs, the loch ness monster and bigfoot as well. You have good company. Mythical spynetworks and is MLB reading your mind you better get your tinfol hat out!
Patrick @ May 12th 2006 12:48PM
@minus_273 -- I think the officially commissioned government reports that acknowledge the existance of Echelon are a pretty good start:
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/09/07/echelon.report.idg/
Ted d @ May 12th 2006 1:04PM
Nick, aka #4, I heard on the radio (they can't track what radio stations I listen to, can they?) last night that Qwest was not participating with the NSA's request. They essentially insisted that the government produce a FISA order before they would hand the records over. It sounds like they took a bit of heat over it all. Being questioned about their patriotism, etc.
Good news for you. And everyone living in the PNW that has a landline.
Qwest also will sell you stand alone DSL (i.e. You don't need to buy a landline too). Which I guess is kinda unusual these days, at least for a major carrier.
Bri @ May 12th 2006 1:21PM
If it's just a conspiracy theory, why doesn't the administration just say so instead of beating around the bush.
Cullumpicus @ May 12th 2006 7:11PM
#7- "I think the officially commissioned government reports that acknowledge the existance of Echelon are a pretty good start:"
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/09/07/echelon.report.idg/
It is a good start if you trust the European Parliament's conspiracy theories's about how and why the system is use.
"The report, published earlier this year, failed to produce hard evidence that the U.S. is using the global telecommunication-tapping network to conduct industrial espionage. "It is frequently maintained that Echelon has been used in this way, but no such case has been substantiated," the report says."
albert @ May 12th 2006 8:56PM
@#3.
Echelon is different. That's government signals gathering on its own by monitoring the airwaves and recording the various electromagnetic radiation that occupies our airwaves.
This NSA spying scandal is based on telecom companies allowing backroom access to the NSA. ECHELON is non co-operative, but the information gathered is much less useful.
Another Thought @ May 12th 2006 9:33PM
The Echelon program is well documented...it was reported on by 60 Minutes in early 2000.
But regardless, this NSA program is much ado about nothing. It's not listening in on people's phone calls...it's gathering data to spot people who may be talking to terrorists. So if you're calling Iran, or Pakistan, or a known terrorist cell in Germany, you may have something to worry about. Who knows, if this program had been in place prior to 9-11, perhaps 3000+ people would be alive today, not to mention some twin towers would be standing.
Consider this: the IRS collects more data on you than this program does. The IRS knows your income, your financial holdings, your address, your social security number, your medical expenses, if you claim them as deductions, your job, your employer, your business expenses, and a whole host of info. And this is available to IRS agents...probably IRS clerical workers. The NSA collects far less data, and you have to have been vetted to a great extent in order to have top secret clearance.
Eugene Fisher @ May 12th 2006 9:51PM
This is not illegal and those phone companies that are not providing the requested information to the government could be violating the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994. This act requires phone companies to provide the information. This law may not have been challenged in court yet and until it is and struck down it is the law.
Libertarian @ May 15th 2006 1:39AM
Downsize the government! Then we won't have those "terror" attacks, along with all the bureaucracy. Government is getting too big. It is spying on its citizens because they feel threatened to lose power to the people. Personally, I don't want "mommy" government spying on me or anyone else. I'm a gun carrying adult. I am not a coward and I can protect myself! We need to privatize everything and get rid of all taxation. Then all the alphabet soup agencies will slowly disappear for good.
hacker not cracker @ May 16th 2006 1:10PM
Great ... I just signed up for a Sprint Plan! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!