Whistleblower Reveals NSA's Secret Internet Tap in AT&T Building
Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician, provided the Electronic Frontier Foundation with evidence that the NSA was secretly tapping the U.S. internet backbone from an AT&T facility (641A) on Folsom Street, creating a copy of traffic for the NSA. This post-9/11 revelation — prompted by Patriot Act changes that blurred the line between foreign and domestic surveillance — became pivotal in the Hepting v. AT&T case and underscored the legal and privacy battles over mass surveillance. The disclosure helped push a legal challenge against the program and highlighted the challenges of handling potentially sensitive information in court.
