October 10, 2007

FCC Will Not Investigate Role of Phone Firms in NSA Warrantless Surveillance

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has officially declined to launch an inquiry into the behavior of US telephone companies after September 11. Extensive news reports have claimed that AT&T, BellSouth (now part of AT&T), and Verizon offered the NSA access to certain information from their networks, and some reports have indicated that AT&T even allowed the government to install optical splitters at key locations. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), who heads the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, has been asking the FCC for months to launch an investigation of the entire affair.

FCC declines to investigate NSA-telco link, Ars Technica, October 8, 2007.