U.S. tech companies are again being accused of helping a government infringe on the rights of its citizens. This time, however, the government in question is that of the U.S., and the tech companies - the largest among them is AT&T - are those that have access to the phone calls and emails of citizens and have helped the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens, reports TechNewsWorld. According to lawsuit file this week by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), AT&T allegedly gave the NSA direct access to "vast databases of communications records, including information about whom their customers have phoned or emailed."

Though internet service providers and telecom carriers must cooperate with law enforcement investigations, in this case the surveillance was "warrantless and wholesale," EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankstontold TechNewsWorld.

"This is something several of the largest telecom companies in the country are doing," he said, adding that the suit would have an impact on other firms.

AT&T said it "cannot discuss matters of national security," and that its "policy is not to discuss pending litigation."