NSA Spying
Take Action: Stop the spying!
For more on the retroactive amnesty issue before Congress, visit Stop the Amnesty.
In 2005, Americans learned that the President authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to wiretap phone and email communications involving United States persons within the U.S. without obtaining a warrant or court order pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA). FISA prohibits unauthorized electronic surveillance. Shortly afterwards Americans also learned that the major telecoms participated in warrantless surveillance, handing over billions of their customers private communications and communications records. EFF later developed specific, undisputed whistleblower evidence demonstrating AT&T's direct participation in the warrantless surveillance by diverting its customer communications to the NSA.
EFF believes the warrantless surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment, FISA, the Wiretap Act, and most likely the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Moreover, it is neither authorized nor justified by the Constitutional power of the executive.
EFF filed the first case against a telecom arising from the warrantless surveillance, called Hepting v. AT&T. This page collects information about the Hepting case, as well as about the nearly 40 legal cases that have arisen from the warrantless surveillance currently pending in the Northern District of California courts. It also includes EFF's blog posts and related documents. For a simpler page with resources about EFF's Hepting case of more interest to non-lawyers, visit the AT&T Class Action Resources page.
NSA Spying Cases
- Al Haramain v. Bush
- NSA Spying - State Administrator CasesThese six cases were brought by the federal government against various state administrators to terminate subpoenas seeking information from the telecoms about whether they violated state privacy laws as part of the the warrantless surveillance. The subpoenas were issued by the New Jersey Attorney General and the Public Utilities Commissioners of Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Missouri.
- Hepting v. AT&TEFF filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T accusing the telecom giant of violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the NSA in its massive, illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications
- Shubert v Bush
- CCR v Bush
- Verizon / MCI
- NSA Multi-District Litigation: Documents Relating to All Cases and Dismissed Cases
In The News
- NEWSWEEK | April 30, 2008 Just Between Us
- EWEEK | April 24, 2008 GOP Revives Telco Immunity Push
- ARS TECHNICA | April 25, 2008 Senators Seek to Stymie State Secret Shenanigans
- WASHINGTON POST | April 08, 2008 FBI Data Transfers Via Telecoms Questioned
- ABC NEWS | March 27, 2008 Michael Mukasey Visits San Francisco
- NEW YORK TIMES | March 14, 2008 House Rejects Immunity in Eavesdropping Bill
- TPM | March 11, 2008 House Surveillance Bill Contains Provision to Aid Telecom Suits
- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | March 10, 2008 NSA's Domestic Spying Grows As Agency Sweeps Up Data
Other Resources
Deeplinks Posts
- May 07, 2008 A New Look at the Hub of AT&T's Spying Program
- April 23, 2008 Stopping Abuse of the State Secrets Privilege
- April 15, 2008 More Questions Swirl Around Mukasey's Emotional Plea for Warrantless Wiretapping
- March 27, 2008 Letters To The Editor: People Speak Out On Surveillance
- March 20, 2008 Talk Back to the House
- March 18, 2008 AT&T Whistleblower on Immunity for Telecoms
- March 18, 2008 How Surveillance Hurts Free Speech
- March 14, 2008 House Passes Bill with No Immunity for Phone Companies
Press Releases
- April 08, 2008 State Secrets Claim Should Not Bury Important Surveillance Lawsuit
- April 07, 2008 EFF Wins Another Speedy Release of Telecom Lobbying Records
- April 01, 2008 EFF and Government Face Off Over Lobbying Disclosure Delays in Friday Hearing
- March 06, 2008 New Telecom Whistleblower Describes Possible Gateway for Massive Surveillance of Wireless Communications
- February 12, 2008 Senate Caves into Pressure - Won't Block Immunity for Illegal Spying
- February 08, 2008 House Committee Leaders Unite to Oppose Immunity for Telecoms
- January 25, 2008 EFF to Urge Reform of State Secrets Privilege at Tuesday Congressional Hearing
- December 17, 2007 EFF Applauds Senator Reid's Decision to Delay Surveillance Bill Until January
Documents and Files
- March 11, 2008 House Draft Version of FISA Amendments Act of 2008[PDF, 224.04 KB]
- September 7, 2006 Al Haramian Motion to Dismiss Denied[PDF, 121.20 KB]
- February 2, 2006 Law Professors Response to Jan 19 DOJ White Paper[PDF, 48.15 KB]
- January 9, 2006 Law Professors Letter in Response to DOJ Letter[PDF, 108.28 KB]
- January 5, 2006 Congressional Research Service memo on Presidential Authority to Conduct Warrantless Electronic Surveillance to Gather Foreign I[PDF, 379.90 KB]
- December 22, 2005 DOJ Letter on Legal Authority for NSA Surveillance[PDF, 291.17 KB]


