Wyden: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Surveillance Requests Not Disclosed to Senators

Senator Wyden Reveals Surveillance Notification Lapses by Major Carriers

A recent communication from Senator Ron Wyden to his Senate colleagues disclosed that three prominent U.S. cellular providers initially lacked procedures for informing legislators regarding government surveillance requests, despite existing contractual obligations to do so.

Investigation Findings

Senator Wyden, a Democrat serving on the Senate Intelligence Committee, detailed how a staff investigation revealed that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon had not been alerting senators to legal requests – including those originating from the White House – for surveillance of their mobile devices. The companies have since indicated they are now implementing such notifications, as stated in the letter.

This matter initially came to light following a report last year from the Inspector General. The report detailed how the Trump administration, during 2017 and 2018, secretly accessed call and text message logs belonging to 43 congressional staffers and two members of the House of Representatives. Gag orders were imposed on the telecommunications companies involved.

Threat to Senate Independence

“Surveillance activities conducted by the executive branch represent a substantial risk to the Senate’s independence and the fundamental principle of separation of powers,” Wyden asserted in his letter. He further explained that the ability of senators to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities is jeopardized if law enforcement agencies can secretly obtain their location data or call records.

Carrier Responses and Policies

AT&T spokesperson Alex Byers affirmed the company’s compliance with obligations to the Senate Sergeant at Arms. Byers stated that AT&T has not received any legal demands concerning Senate offices under the current contract, which commenced last June.

However, Byers did not provide a response when questioned about potential legal demands received prior to the new contract.

Senator Wyden’s letter also mentioned that one carrier, remaining unnamed, had confirmed providing Senate data to law enforcement without prior notification to the Senate. Wyden’s spokesperson, Keith Chu, explained the decision to withhold the carrier’s identity was to encourage continued responsiveness to Senator Wyden’s inquiries.

Neither Verizon nor T-Mobile offered a comment when contacted.

Smaller Carriers and Policy Changes

The letter highlighted that Google Fi, US Mobile, and Cape, a cellular startup, all maintain policies to inform customers about government demands whenever legally permissible. US Mobile and Cape adopted these policies following communication from Senator Wyden’s office.

Chu clarified that the Senate does not have contractual agreements with these smaller carriers.

Ahmed Khattak, founder and CEO of US Mobile, confirmed the company lacked a formal customer notification policy regarding surveillance requests before Senator Wyden’s inquiry. He stated their current policy is to notify customers of subpoenas or legal demands for information when legally allowed, and not restricted by court order or legal gag provision.

“To our knowledge, US Mobile has not received any surveillance requests targeting the phones of senators or their staff,” Khattak added.

Cape CEO John Doyle referenced the company’s privacy policy, which states they respond to legal requests but will notify subscribers of any legal process seeking their account information, allowing them to challenge the request, unless legally prohibited.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Contractual Protections and Future Steps

Following congressional enactment of data protections in 2020, the Senate Sergeant at Arms updated its contracts to mandate that phone carriers provide notifications of surveillance requests. Senator Wyden’s staff subsequently discovered that these notifications were not being consistently implemented.

It’s important to note that these protections do not extend to personal or campaign phones used by senators and their staff. Wyden urged his colleagues to consider switching to carriers that now offer these crucial notifications.

This article was updated to include comments from Cape’s John Doyle and to correct the title of US Mobile’s founder.