Did Telcos Hire “Scapegoat” To Give NSA Phone Records?
A new Business Week article may help explain how AT&T and BellSouth can say they didn’t help the NSA, despite the spy agency having millions of their records showing the call details of Americans using their networks.
The magazine reveals a hidden corner of the telecommunications world: a small group of companies who specialize in granting the government access to telecommunications records, conversations and real-time data on behalf of the telecom giants.
That’s right: the government now makes so many requests for wiretaps, phone records and call information that an industry has sprung up to handle the load.
[TPMmuckraker | May 19, 2006]