AT&T has been using millions of dollars from local and state governments to search customer phone records, location, and metadata without a warrant.
Infosecurity Magazine Explains:
The Daily Beast has released details of “Project Hemisphere”—a program first revealed in 2013 by the New York Times. The Times described it as a “partnership” between AT&T and the US government used “prudently” in the war on drugs and other investigations into homicide, Medicaid fraud and the like. It was at the time deployed at three DEA centers in the US.
The Daily Beast reports that AT&T’s own documentation shows that Project Hemisphere is much more broad-ranging today. It is used in at least 28 intelligence centers across the country, which are staffed by federal agents as well as local law enforcement. Analysis is done by AT&T employees on behalf of law enforcement clients through these intelligence centers, but performed at another location in the area. At no point does law enforcement directly access AT&T’s data.
Municipalities pay for the service, but the federal government reimburses them for the expense. And it’s not cheap: Law enforcement agencies pay anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million per year.