The recent revelation that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting secretive wiretapping operations on American citizens raised shouts of protest from privacy advocates across the country. But now the covert government operation is causing problems for the corporate community as well.

New York attorney Michael Pascazi filed suit on behalf of a “nationwide class of persons” against Verizon Communications Inc. alleging that the telecommunications company collaborated with the NSA's wiretapping operation to invade the privacy of its customers. Filed on Feb. 17 in a U.S. District Court in New York, the suit seeks damages totaling approximately $20 billion.

The case parallels another suit filed on Jan. 31 against AT&T. In that case, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a technology-centered civil liberties group, alleged similar invasions of privacy and illegal wiretapping. That case, which EFF filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, also seeks billions of dollars in damages.

According to a USA Today report published on Feb. 6, AT&T, Sprint and MCI, which Verizon acquired last year, all granted the government access to their systems without warrants or court orders and provided call-routing information that helped the government physically locate callers.

The recent revelation that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been conducting secretive wiretapping operations on American citizens raised shouts of protest from privacy advocates across the country. But now the covert government operation is causing problems for the corporate community as well.

New York attorney Michael Pascazi filed suit on behalf of a “nationwide class of persons” against Verizon Communications Inc. alleging that the telecommunications company collaborated with the NSA's wiretapping operation to invade the privacy of its customers. Filed on Feb. 17 in a U.S. District Court in New York, the suit seeks damages totaling approximately $20 billion.

The case parallels another suit filed on Jan. 31 against AT&T. In that case, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a technology-centered civil liberties group, alleged similar invasions of privacy and illegal wiretapping. That case, which EFF filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, also seeks billions of dollars in damages.

According to a USA Today report published on Feb. 6, AT&T, Sprint and MCI, which Verizon acquired last year, all granted the government access to their systems without warrants or court orders and provided call-routing information that helped the government physically locate callers.