EFF has sued AT&T for violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its massive and illegal spying program. On July 20, 2006, a federal judge denied the government's and AT&T's motions to dismiss the case, and, in doing so, demonstrated that the conventional court system is perfectly capable of handling challenges related to illegal spying.

But now the White House and Senator Arlen Specter are scheming to sweep all legal challenges related to government spying under the rug, moving cases to a secret court with no procedures for hearing argument from anyone but the government. This sham "compromise" bill will help the government continue to break the law, vastly expanding the president's power to spy on you without any meaningful oversight from Congress or the courts. .