--- title: AT&T Partnered With NSA for Spying, Report Says description: New documents provided by Edward Snowden show AT&T handed over billions of emails and online interactions to the government canonical: https://time.com/3999527/att-nsa-spying/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-15T18:32:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:09.092Z article:section: Politics og:title: AT&T Partnered With NSA for Spying, Report Says og:description: New documents provided by Edward Snowden show AT&T handed over billions of emails and online interactions og:url: https://time.com/3999527/att-nsa-spying/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt795fe19e5b51af9a/69885f7d428a9e274acceaa1/ap_986069650299.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: AT&T og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: AT&T Partnered With NSA for Spying, Report Says twitter:description: New documents provided by Edward Snowden show AT&T handed over billions of emails and online interactions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt795fe19e5b51af9a/69885f7d428a9e274acceaa1/ap_986069650299.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # AT&T Partnered With NSA for Spying, Report Says > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden [Watch (HLS stream): Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year._  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Aug 15, 2015 6:32 PM UTC  FILE - This Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, file photo shows an AT&T logo on an AT&T Wireless retail store front, in Philadelphia. AT&T reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday, April 22, 2014\. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) FILE - This Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, file photo shows an AT&T logo on an AT&T Wireless retail store front, in Philadelphia. AT&T reports quarterly earnings on Tuesday, April 22, 2014\. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Matt Rourke—AP  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Aug 15, 2015 6:32 PM UTC AT&T has [helped](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/us/politics/att-helped-nsa-spy-on-an-array-of-internet-traffic.html?%5Fr=0) the National Security Agency spy on U.S. Internet traffic for more than a decade, according to newly disclosed documents provided to the _New York Times_ and ProPublica by Edward Snowden. Though many telecommunications companies have assisted the government in monitoring online interactions, the newly revealed papers called the relationship with AT&T “highly collaborative” and highlighted the company’s “extreme willingness to help.” AT&T handed over billions of emails to the NSA between 2003 and 2013 and offered technical assistance in executing a court order to wiretap all online communications at the United Nations headquarters. AT&T also installed surveillance equipment in 17 or more of its Internet hubs in the U.S., more than any other telecom company. Since the original Snowden disclosures in 2013, some telecommunications companies have begun to push back against the government on matters of security. In 2014, Verizon challenged a court order demanding it provide phone records. AT&T has said it does not comment on issues of national security. 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