AT&T Broadband Customers May Want to Change Companies to Protect Their Privacy

August 24, 2006 – AT&T, the long distance carrier and internet service provider (ISP), is embroiled in privacy law suits due to its sharing of information with the National Security Agency (NSA). The company has engaged in what a number of attorney’s have deemed "illegal activity" by providing the government access to customer voice traffic without a warrant. So in an attempt to avoid future law suits, you might think that the company would make some changes. Well, they have. They have changed their privacy policy to allow them to share data traffic with pretty much anyone they want to.

The one thing that AT&T customers can’t expect from the company is "privacy". The company reworked its privacy policy in June because of the law suits that were being filed against them.

The new policy is all inclusive. It says that AT&T owns just about everything that you transmit over the company’s network. This includes the e-mail addresses of people you send information to, credit card numbers, passwords, and even your Social Security Number if you provide it to anyone over the internet.

One portion of the policy that is particularly troubling is contained in the section of the policy titled "Legal Obligations/Fraud". It reads, "While your Account Information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T. As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process." This section goes on to say that the company may use your information as "required or permitted by law," meaning that unless what the company is doing is illegal, your information is fair game for them to use.

The company specifically states that your Social Security Number is a part of your account information. The statement makes AT&T customer’s SSNs business records of AT&T.

The problem with the new policy is that it provides the company with a blank check invade customer privacy. The company can get away with this because current federal telecommunications law doesn’t guards the privacy of voice traffic, but provides virtually no protection for data traffic. Contrast this with cable TV companies that offer internet services and there is a very big difference. Data traffic over cable TV networks is regulated and must be kept private.

The debate over AT&T and privacy began when it was revealed that the company had setup secret rooms in some of their major switching offices. The NSA installed equipment in these rooms that allowed the government to eavesdrop on the phone conversations of virtually all of the company’s customers.

An AT&T employee who stumbled onto one of these rooms became a whistle blower and informed the ACLU and the EFF. The ACLU file a law suit against the NSA wire taps and just last week a federal judge declared the NSA program unconstitutional in a scathing 45 page ruling. The Bush administration is in the process of appealing the ruling.

Because of AT&T’s participation in the NSA wiretapping program, the privacy policy change is very disturbing. It may very well be that the company is preparing to turn over the internet records of all of its customers to the federal government, without ever being served with a search warrant. The change impacts AT&T broadband customers.

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