A recent investigative report published by Wired revealed a secret US government surveillance program run in collaboration with telecommunications giant AT&T. Leaked police documents, a White House memo and a letter from US Senator Ron Wyden to the Department of Justice (DOJ) point to a secret program called Data Analytical Services (DAS), formerly known as Hemisphere.
For over 10 years, millions of Americans have been spied on!
This revelation shows that federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have been extensively monitoring millions of US citizens for over a decade under this undisclosed initiative.
Under the guise of targeting drug trafficking, the DAS program goes beyond tracking the call records of suspected criminals. It also reportedly includes monitoring the communications of their families, friends and individuals unrelated to any criminal activity.
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AT&T, the largest telecommunications operator in the US by subscribers, plays a key role in facilitating this surveillance. A White House memo reviewed by Wired shows that the program received over $6 million in funding from the President’s office to record calls made using AT&T’s infrastructure.
It highlights examples of law enforcement agencies requesting DAS data for purposes unrelated to drug cases. Requests from local police departments, such as those in Daly City and Oakland, were for unsolved cases unrelated to drug trafficking. What’s more, the leaked documents reveal that the DAS program was used to identify suspects and victims, even spying on close friends of people under investigation.
AT&T declined to respond directly to questions about the DAS program when reached for comment. The company argued that it is obliged to comply with lawful requests from law enforcement. However, there is no existing US law that explicitly allows telecommunications operators to retain extensive call data for long periods of time to assist law enforcement.
Funding for the DAS program has been suspended and restarted during different presidential administrations. First suspended under President Obama after details of the Hemisphere program were revealed by The New York Times in 2013, funding resumed under President Trump and was halted again in 2021.
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Wired’s report notes that funding for AT&T’s data mining program has resumed under the current administration of President Joe Biden, raising concerns about the privacy implications and legality of such extensive surveillance practices. What do you think? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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