NSA Eavesdroppers: How Long Have They Listened?

Feb. 7, 2006 — -- Consumer advocates and privacy groups renewed pleas for the release of more information on the National Security Agency's telephone surveillance program after a newspaper reported that telecommunications giants AT&T, MCI and Sprint had cooperated with the government.

As part of the program, the NSA listened without warrants to the international phone calls of people with suspected ties to terrorists. According to a story in Monday's USA Today, the phone companies granted the government access to their networks without court orders.

One consumer advocacy group said the relationship between consumers and their phone service providers could change as more customers became aware that conversations once assumed to be private could be subject to government eavesdropping.

"Network operators have always functioned as neutral transmitters, meaning they don't control who you call, when you call, et cetera. So until this point, consumers were led to believe that they would not monitor communication on their networks absent a warrant," said Jeannine Kenney, senior policy expert at Consumers Union.

With the rising threat of identity theft, Kenny said consumers are more aware than ever of the possibility that others are monitoring their actions online. But the idea that phone communications might also be monitored is something that consumers may not have considered.

"Consumers have come to expect that no one is tapping their phones without some kind of probable cause. The question this brings up is, does this signal a change in the policy of big telecom companies?" Kenny said.

A recent spate of telecom mergers may have made government access easier. MCI was acquired by WorldCom, AT&T was acquired by SBC Communications and Sprint merged with Nextel. As a result, the three companies now handle the majority of U.S.-based international calls.