ProPublica and The New York Times:

While it has been long known that American telecommunications companies worked closely with the spy agency, newly disclosed NSA documents show that the relationship with AT&T has been considered unique and especially productive. One document described it as “highly collaborative,” while another lauded the company’s “extreme willingness to help.” […]

One document reminds NSA officials to be polite when visiting AT&T facilities, noting: “This is a partnership, not a contractual relationship.”

It’s amazing how casually AT&T treats their customers’ privacy. They should be ashamed of themselves. But unfortunately, the only solution is to encrypt everything — I don’t have any faith that there’s a single telecom that has any respect for their users. They all have us over a barrel and would rather appease the government’s incessant need to collect data rather than do the right thing by protecting privacy.

(Via Pixel Envy.)