Telstra signed deal that would have allowed US spying

Source: Guardian

Telstra signed deal that would have allowed US spying

Australian company agreed to allow US government to store information on communications between US and other countries

Bridie Jabour in Sydney
guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 July 2013 05.08 EDT

Telstra agreed to store information on communications between America and other countries in a contract with the US government which meant it could potentially spy on the contents.

The agreement was signed in 2001 between the telecommunications company – which was at the time half-owned by the Australian government – and its subsidiary Reach, as well as the FBI and the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

The agreement, first reported by Crikey who obtained the documents, gave the US government permission to store "domestic communications" – with the possibility of using them for spying – using the underwater cables owned by Reach.

Domestic communications were defined in the agreement as communications within the US but could also extend to communications which "originate or terminate" in America, meaning Australian communications with America could have potentially been subject to the agreement.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/12/telstra-deal-america-government-spying