AT&T isn't commenting on the news. However, it's important to note that this wasn't the only carrier cooperating with the NSA. Verizon* was part of another program that spied on foreign-to-foreign traffic, and there's no question that it, Sprint and other US carriers have complied with bulk data requests. The difference is that AT&T has been disproportionately involved in the NSA's intelligence gathering. The NSA's AT&T-related program drew more than twice as much funding as the next-closest initiative, and the company has many more surveillance nodes on its internet hubs. There's a concern that AT&T, despite its gestures toward transparency, has been overly ready to sacrifice its customers' privacy in the name of security.

Update: In a statement, AT&T maintains that it doesn't provide information to authorities "without a court order or other mandatory process," and only makes exceptions when a "person's life is in danger and time is of the essence," such as in a kidnapping. However, this sidesteps the issue of willingness -- the concern is not that the company is handing over information outside of a legal framework, but that it's actively embracing a questionable framework rather than defending its customers' privacy, like other networks have done in the past.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Paul Sancya]

* Verizon has acquired AOL, Engadget's parent company. However, Engadget maintains full editorial control, and Verizon will have to pry it from our cold, dead hands.