A clandestine government surveillance program has been tracking more than one trillion domestic phone records of ordinary, law-abiding citizens across the United States for over a decade, according to a letter sent by Democratic Senator from Oregon Ron Wyden to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The letter, obtained by WIRED, suggests that the Data Analytical Services (DAS) program has enabled federal, state, and local law enforcement to sieve through countless phone records and information without suspicion of criminality or wrongdoing.
The program, which cooperates with AT&T, utilizes “chain analysis,” which allows agencies or law enforcement to look into anyone who may have been in contact with a criminal suspect. Law enforcement may request any data or call records of anyone related to the suspect – regardless of how distant – so long as they use AT&T.
A range of agencies and officials have hitherto participated in the program, ranging from the U.S. Postal Service to the Californian Highway Patrol. Others include the New York Department of Corrections, U.S. Immigration and Customs, and the National Guard.
One instance involved a San Jose officer who asked the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center to identify a potential victim and material witness in a criminal case. The officer said that by way of the program, “We obtained six months of call data for [suspect]’s phone, as well as several close associations (his girlfriend, father, sister, mother).”
“I have serious concerns about the legality of this surveillance program, and the materials provided by the DOJ contain troubling information that would justifiably outrage many Americans and other members of Congress,” Senator Wyden stresses in the letter.
“The public interest in an informed debate about government surveillance far outweighs the need to keep this information secret. To that end, I urge you to promptly clear for public release the material described,” he adds.