Feds Assemble Huge Database of U.S. Phone Calls

USA TODAY broke the news today about a secret government project to create the "largest database in the world, with a record of every call ever made within the US," according to one of the paper's sources.

According to the article, "The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth" without warrants or court approval. Per the paper's sources, the agency is looking for call patterns to help identify terrorists.

The three named companies have reportedly been supplying phone records since just after 9/11. "Internals," or the actual phone conversations, aren't being monitored, according to the paper. And customers' names, street addresses and other personal information aren't being handed over.

Qwest was the lone holdout against the NSA's request, according to the story. Company lawyers were troubled by the legal implications of handing over data without a warrant.

Read USA TODAY's story here. Bruce Schneir also has a post on the topic.