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Exposé of 'Scandalous' US Spying Sparks Calls for Congress to Act
"These new details add up to a horrifying picture that proves the need for Congress to... enact comprehensive privacy protections for Americans before reauthorizing any spying powers," said one campaigner.
Nov 20, 2023
Privacy advocates on Monday renewed demands for swift congressional action on government surveillance in response to new WIREDreporting on a federally funded program through which law enforcement obtains phone records from AT&T.
"This is a long-running dragnet surveillance program in which the White House pays AT&T to provide all federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies the ability to request often-warrantless searches of trillions of domestic phone records," U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote Sunday in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, which WIRED obtained and published in full.
Wyden—a lead sponsor of the Government Surveillance Reform Act (GSRA), a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this month—shared some of what he has learned about the program and urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to release information about it.
Now known as Data Analytical Services (DAS), the program was initially revealed to the public as the Hemisphere Project by The New York Times in 2013. Information collected includes caller and recipient names, phone numbers, and dates and times of calls.
Based on what officials told Wyden's staff, "all Hemisphere requests are sent to a single AT&T analyst located in Atlanta, Georgia, and... any law enforcement officer working for one of the federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. can contact the AT&T Hemisphere analyst directly to request they run a query, with varying authorization requirements," the letter says.
The letter also explains that "although the Hemisphere Project is paid for with federal funds, they are delivered to AT&T through an obscure grant program, enabling the program to skip an otherwise mandatory federal privacy review" by the DOJ.
Citing a document provided by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Wyden noted that "White House funding for this program was suspended by the Obama administration in 2013, the same year the program was exposed by the press, but continued with other federal funding under a new generic sounding program name, 'Data Analytical Services.'"
"ONDCP funding for this surveillance program was quietly resumed by the Trump administration in 2017, paused again in 2021, the first year of the Biden administration, and then quietly restarted again in 2022," according to the senator.
"The public interest in an informed debate about government surveillance far outweighs the need to keep this information secret."
"I have serious concerns about the legality of this surveillance program, and the materials provided by the DOJ contain troubling information that would justifiably outrage many Americans and other members of Congress," he wrote, referencing materials the department gave his office. "While I have long defended the government's need to protect classified sources and methods, this surveillance program is not classified and its existence has already been acknowledged by the DOJ in federal court. The public interest in an informed debate about government surveillance far outweighs the need to keep this information secret."
WIRED pointed out that in addition to DAS not being subjected to a DOJ privacy review, "the White House is also exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, reducing the public's overall ability to shed light on the program."
While the White House "acknowledged an inquiry... but has yet to provide a comment," WIRED reported, AT&T spokesperson Kim Hart Jonson declined to comment, "saying only that the company is required by law to comply with a lawful subpoena."
"There is no law requiring AT&T to store decades' worth of Americans' call records for law enforcement purposes," the outlet highlighted. "Documents reviewed by WIRED show that AT&T officials have attended law enforcement conferences in Texas as recently as 2018 to train police officials on how best to utilize AT&T's voluntary, albeit revenue-generating, assistance."
Responding in a statement Monday, Demand Progress policy director Sean Vitka noted that the reporting comes as members of Congress are considering whether to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows warrantless surveillance targeting foreigners located outside the United States and will expire at the end of 2023.
"Hemisphere appears to be Exhibit A for mass domestic surveillance, the data broker loophole, and even parallel construction," said Vitka. "These new details add up to a horrifying picture that proves the need for Congress to close the data broker loophole and enact comprehensive privacy protections for Americans before reauthorizing any spying powers, most notably Section 702 of FISA. The fact that a White House office—one that is actively fighting FISA reform—restarted funding for Hemisphere in 2022, in spite of recent Supreme Court precedent, is scandalous."
Demand Progress is among the groups backing Wyden's recently unveiled legislation—which, as WIRED reported, would close various loopholes, "effectively rendering the DAS program, in its current form, explicitly illegal."
Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, which also endorsed the GSRA, said of the reporting: "This is exactly why Congress must pass comprehensive surveillance reform as a precondition for ANY reauthorization of FISA Section 702. The Government Surveillance Reform Act would put an end to the abuses revealed in this latest bombshell story."
Freedom of the Press Foundation also acknowledged current reauthoriztion battle, saying on social media Monday: "So the [government] used loopholes to secretly restart a mass domestic surveillance program, and some lawmakers also want to re-up FISA Section 702 without real reforms because we can 'trust' authorities not to abuse their power to go after journalists and others? No thanks."
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Survey Reveals How Much Voters Dislike Companies Funding Seditious GOP Lawmakers
"Given this survey's findings, CEOs should certainly note: they face an undeniable threat to their bottom lines once consumers are made aware of their funding of fascists."
Jul 12, 2022
New polling published Tuesday revealed that most U.S. voters oppose corporate donations to Republican lawmakers who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election, with favorability ratings plummeting by an average of 40% when participants were informed of a company's financial support for backers of former President Donald Trump's "Big Lie."
"Corporations quietly resumed funding these members of Congress who voted to throw out legally cast votes in favor of party loyalty."
Data for Progress surveyed nearly 1,300 U.S. voters, finding that 57%--including 80% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 36% of Republicans--are against corporations funding members of Congress who voted against certifying President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Survey participants were first asked about their opinions of nine major corporations. Then they were queried again after being informed of the firms' campaign contributions to would-be election overturners. Each of the nine companies donated at least $50,000 directly to the reelection campaigns or leadership PACs of the 147 GOP seditionists, who have collectively raised more than $36 million in corporate donations since the January 6 attack, according to the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
\u201cNEW POLL: Voters disapprove of corporations backing politicians who voted against certifying the 2020 election.\n\nCorporate favorability ratings drop, on average, by 40% when voters are informed of their campaign contributions to election overturners.\n\nhttps://t.co/WTk14D4r9I\u201d— Data for Progress (@Data for Progress) 1657637278
Data for Progress explained:
Among likely voters, without any prior context, United Parcel Service (UPS) receives a net favorability rating of +67 points, Cigna receives a net favorability rating of +22 points, Ford receives a net favorability rating of +57 points, AT&T receives a net favorability rating of +37 points, Home Depot receives a net favorability rating of +70 points, Toyota receives a net favorability rating of +67 points, American Airlines receives a net favorability rating of +39 points, Chevron receives a net favorability rating of +31 points, and Anheuser-Busch... receives a net favorability rating of +36 points.
However, once informed of these companies' support for would-be election overturners, voter favorability fell by between 28 (Cigna) and 54 points (Toyota), with an average drop of 40 points. Among voters who identified as Democrats, the average favorability drop was 78 points. For Independents it was 33 points, while Republicans registered an eight-point decline, on average.
"Many corporations, including seven of the nine that were tested in this study, initially made public statements promising to stop donating to election overturners after the insurrection. However, corporations quietly resumed funding these members of Congress who voted to throw out legally cast votes in favor of party loyalty," Data for Progress said. "Given this survey's findings, CEOs should certainly note: they face an undeniable threat to their bottom lines once consumers are made aware of their funding of fascists."
\u201cCorporate and business PACs have given nearly $100,000 to lawmakers seeking pardons for their January 6 involvement. The January 6 hearings should be serving as a wake up call.\nhttps://t.co/SKA7kqwr7D\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1657578616
Common Dreams has reported how corporations have broken their promises to not support the 147 Republicans by donating millions of dollars to their campaigns. Last week, CREW revealed that six far-right House Republicans who allegedly requested preemptive pardons from Trump for their roles in the January 6 insurrection have received more than $100,000 in contributions from corporate and business PACs.
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Our Democracy Is in Danger and AT&T Is to Blame
AT&T is the number one contributor to extremist legislators introducing dangerous laws that silence us and keep us from the polls.
Jun 08, 2022
AT&T, one of Dallas' leading businesses, has built its reputation around serving the community and connecting family and friends. Yet on May 19, as shareholders and company leaders gathered virtually for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, local and national activists joined together to call the company out for contradicting its own values and undermining our democracy.
As one of Texas' major companies and biggest employers, and as a company whose purpose is to connect Americans, we cannot let them disconnect us from the democracy that exists to serve the will of the people.
AT&T claims to support civic participation and racial justice through grandiose statements ("Corporate America cannot sit this one out," and "AT&T Supports Advancing Equal Justice Reforms") and shareholder resolutions, while at the same time AT&T is the number one contributor to extremist legislators introducing dangerous laws that silence us and keep us from the polls.
These lawmakers are fighting to keep structural racism, infringing upon civil rights and disenfranchising voters in hopes to divide and distract us while they block popular legislation including democracy reform and policies that will make our voices stronger. Millions of people, especially in Black and Brown communities, are blocked from exercising their constitutional rights because of restrictions on voting rights and the corroding influence of corporate money in politics.
In the Texas primary elections in March, over 24,000 mail-in ballots were rejected throughout the state, far more rejections than previous years. Voting rights activists and local elected officials say this was due to the introduction of the SB1 bill that imposed new identification requirements, silencing many eligible voters.
The future of our democracy can not and should not be in the hands of corporations and politicians who want to take us back to policies reminiscent of the Jim Crow era.
But AT&T, its CEO John Stankey, and its head of Executive and Legislative Affairs, Sr. Executive Vice President Ed Gillespie, are helping these politicians advance their anti democratic agendas by providing financial support to their campaigns.
While AT&T was donating to their campaigns, state lawmakers were pushing for (and successfully passed) dozens of anti-voting and anti-protest laws across the county since 2021. AT&T was also one of the first companies to break their commitment to ending financial contributions to the members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.
In public statements, annual reports and filings with the SEC, AT&T pledged to advance equal justice reforms. Yet this year its Board or Directors rejected a shareholder resolution that calls on company executives to explain actions that aren't aligned with its commitment to values including gender equality and dedication to "overcoming systemic barriers and ensuring civil rights for all people." The company has contributed to politicians that pushed new voter suppression laws through, and lobbied for legislation that creates criminal penalties for peaceful protesters.
AT&T and its leadership, especially CEO John Stankey and Sr. Executive Vice President Ed Gillespie, should publicly recommit to supporting policies that expand access to the ballot box and make it easier for eligible voters to participate in our elections. AT&T needs to uphold its promise to suspend contributions to candidates who refused to certify the 2020 election results or who have publicly demonstrated their support for doing so. It also needs to stop lobbying for or giving money to state legislators who sponsor anti-protest bills.
As one of Texas' major companies and biggest employers, and as a company whose purpose is to connect Americans, we cannot let them disconnect us from the democracy that exists to serve the will of the people. AT&T, hear the clarity of this call: help us restore and protect our freedom to vote. Together, we can take a step forward to achieving a democracy that is truly representative and responsive to the American people.
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