In 2002, an AT&T technician named Mark Klein discovered that the National Security Agency had installed a secret monitoring facility at the San Francisco building where he worked.
Four years later — after reading a New York Times story detailing the George W. Bush administration’s secret warrantless wiretapping program, Klein finally went public with what he’d seen.
Today, both the NSA and AT&T refuse to discuss what was going on in now-legendary Room 641A at 611 Folsom Street, as whatever was happening there remains classified.
In “United States of Secrets: Privacy Lost” — part two of FRONTLINE’s in-depth examination of the NSA’s secret surveillance programs — veteran correspondent Martin Smith explores the relationship between the U.S. surveillance state and America’s largest tech and telecom companies.
Part two premieres Tuesday, May 20 at 10 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide. FRONTLINE was kind enough to share an exclusive advance look with TIME.
- The Case for Mediocrity
- How Russia Is Recruiting Cubans to Fight in Ukraine
- Paul Hollywood Answers All of Your Questions About The Great British Baking Show
- Meet the 2023 TIME100 Next: the Emerging Leaders Shaping the World
- Oprah and Arthur C. Brooks: How to Separate Work From Your Identity
- How Canada and India's Relationship Crumbled
- You Don’t Have to Like Wrestling to Love Netflix’s Excellent Wrestlers
- The Most Anticipated Books, Movies, TV, and Music of Fall 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time