The latest documents from former CIA employee and government contractor, Edward Snowden, reveal that the National Security Agency (NSA) have enjoyed a collaborative relationship with the telecom giant AT&T. The documents also reveal that the latter showed "extreme willingness to help" on the government agency's bid to snoop on the worldwide use of the internet from 2003 to 2013.
The information was obtained from a joint report by the major daily, New York Times, and a non-profit corporation, ProPublica.
This appears to be an affirmation of earlier reports that AT&T and other network service providers are failing to protect their customers' privacy or to prevent outsiders' reach, by their accommodation of NSA's request for unlimited access.
The report described that AT&T installed surveillance equipment in not less 17 internet hubs in the country, while another big telecom company, Verizon, had put up the same system, though in fewer hubs.
More specifically, AT&T gave NSA access to billions of e-mails that flowed through their domestic networks. Likewise, it extended technical assistance for a secret court order to be carried out, which allowed wiretapping of internet communications in the headquarters of the United Nations, a client of AT&T.
While it is a known fact that telecommunication companies maintain strong ties with the government regulators so that their businesses will continue to run smoothly, AT&T's case was uniquely different. One of the documents unearthed by Snowden served as a reminder to NSA officials to "be polite when visiting AT&T facilities" and even noted that what they had "[was] a partnership, not a contractual relationship."
NSA, AT&T and Verizon have all refused to discuss such findings gathered from the documents. "We don't comment on matters of national security," said a spokesman of the AT&T.
It is not clear, however, if the programs are operated the same way to this day. Snowden's revelations have triggered global debate on the issue of surveillance as well as expressions of anger, particularly from Silicon Valley technology companies, on what they consider as an intrusion by the NSA and an act that has thwarted them.
