--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the 'New York Times' revealed the…" description: "\"When the 'New York Times' revealed the warrantless surveillance of voice calls, in December 2005, the telephone companies got nervous.\" — Barton Gellman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg" --- # When the 'New York Times' revealed the warrantless… ![“When the 'New York Times' revealed the warrantless surveillance of voice calls, in December 2005, the telephone companies got nervous.” quote by Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg) > “When the 'New York Times' revealed the warrantless surveillance of voice calls, in December 2005, the telephone companies got nervous.” [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The NYT expose of warrantless call surveillance caused telecoms to become uneasy about privacy. **In simple terms:** Revealed surveillance made phone companies nervous. Key Takeaway Advocate for stronger privacy protections. Themes privacy surveillance media Mood concerned alert Type political informative When to use this quote - policy debate - public awareness - legal reform Key Concepts journalism law technology Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect call privacy? - How can citizens demand accountability? A Different Perspective Corporate resistance may limit transparency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [2005 Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/2005-telephone-5242161/) [Calls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls/) [Companies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companies/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [December](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/december/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [New york times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york-times/) [Revealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealed/) [Revealed Warrantless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revealed-warrantless-5242160/) [Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance/) [Surveillance Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surveillance-voice-5242159/) [Telephone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephone/) [Telephones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telephones/) [Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Warrantless Surveillance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warrantless-surveillance-5242158/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ “Mr. Watson — Come here — I want to see you. \[ First intelligible words spoken over the telephone \]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/mr-watson-come-here-i-want-to-see-you-first-intelligible-words-spoken/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [Success is when your name is in everything but the telephone directory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ewing/success-is-when-your-name-is-in-everything-but-the-telephone-directory/) [Sam Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ewing/) > [Telephone companies do not shut off your phone line based on what political views you express during calls. The same logic should apply today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hagerty/telephone-companies-do-not-shut-off-your-phone-line-based-on-what/) [Bill Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hagerty/) > [“JUST WHAT IS GOOGLE? In 1902, the New York Telephone Company opened the world’s first school for “telephone girls.” It was an exclusive institution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/just-what-is-google-in-1902-the-new-york-telephone-company-opened-the/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [You can't pick up the telephone and say, 'Connect me with someone else who has a kid with leukemia.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/you-can-t-pick-up-the-telephone-and-say-connect-me-with-someone-else/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [It could be a little bit sad as a young girl to sit there and wait in front of the telephone that would never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-karina/it-could-be-a-little-bit-sad-as-a-young-girl-to-sit-there-and-wait-in/) [Anna Karina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-karina/) > [The telephone is the most important single technological resource of later life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-comfort/the-telephone-is-the-most-important-single-technological-resource-of/) [Alex Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-comfort/) > [The KKK members that I was dealing with never saw me because my interaction with them occurred over the phone. They were convinced that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-stallworth/the-kkk-members-that-i-was-dealing-with-never-saw-me-because-my/) [Ron Stallworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-stallworth/) > [Older Americans are perfect telemarketing customers, analysts say, because they are often at home, rely on delivery services, and are lonely for the companionship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/older-americans-are-perfect-telemarketing-customers-analysts-say/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [“The old gentleman refuses to have the telephone which he regards as a device of the devil, and on a par with radio, television,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/the-old-gentleman-refuses-to-have-the-telephone-which-he-regards-as-a/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [The telephone is virtual reality in that you can meet with someone as if you are together, at least for the auditory sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-telephone-is-virtual-reality-in-that-you-can-meet-with-someone-as/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [I will take questions from the guys, but from the girls I want telephone numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-will-take-questions-from-the-guys-but-from-the-girls-i-want/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/telephone-n-an-invention-of-the-devil-which-abrogates-some-of-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [People used what they called a telephone because they hated being close together and they were scared of being alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/people-used-what-they-called-a-telephone-because-they-hated-being/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Barton Gellman > [On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/on-march-12-2004-acting-attorney-general-james-b-comey-and-the/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [For political and bureaucratic reasons, governments at all levels are telling far less to the public than to insiders about how to prepare for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/for-political-and-bureaucratic-reasons-governments-at-all-levels-are/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Searches of al Qaeda sites in Afghanistan, undertaken since American-backed forces took control there, are not known to have turned up a significant cache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/searches-of-al-qaeda-sites-in-afghanistan-undertaken-since-american/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [I don't think Cheney started off in 2000 with a burning desire to become vice-president. 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Anybody who has the reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-doubt-there-s-any-government-in-the-world-that-guides-itself/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [U.S. intelligence services routinely use collection methods against foreigners that foreseeably - with certainty - ingest high volumes of U.S. communications as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/u-s-intelligence-services-routinely-use-collection-methods-against/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Snowden is an orderly thinker, with an engineer's approach to problem-solving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/snowden-is-an-orderly-thinker-with-an-engineer-s-approach-to-problem/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Experts said public companies worry about the loss of customer confidence and the legal liability to shareholders or security vendors when they report flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/experts-said-public-companies-worry-about-the-loss-of-customer/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [The United States, a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, destroyed the last of its stocks of VX and other chemical agents on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/the-united-states-a-signatory-to-the-chemical-weapons-convention/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [As Trotsky didn't exactly say, you may not be interested in electronic snoops, but snoops are interested in you, whether or not you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/as-trotsky-didn-t-exactly-say-you-may-not-be-interested-in-electronic/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [You don't need to be a spook to care about encryption. If you travel with your computer or keep it in a place where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/you-don-t-need-to-be-a-spook-to-care-about-encryption-if-you-travel/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [I learned the technology and tradecraft of electronic security in self defense, with a lot of expert help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-learned-the-technology-and-tradecraft-of-electronic-security-in/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Nothing is absolute in security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/nothing-is-absolute-in-security/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Early in 1986, the World Health Organization in Geneva still regarded AIDS as an ailment of the promiscuous few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/early-in-1986-the-world-health-organization-in-geneva-still-regarded/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) [Explore all 139 Barton Gellman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) ## More Calls quotes > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I'm signed to a U.S. label, and I didn't enjoy the 3 A.M. phone calls. I'm not a great sleeper, so I didn't enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle/i-m-signed-to-a-u-s-label-and-i-didn-t-enjoy-the-3-a-m-phone-calls-i/) [Estelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle/) > [Sometimes the calls just don't go your way. You've just got to learn to deal with those situations and try to prevent yourself from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-millsap/sometimes-the-calls-just-don-t-go-your-way-you-ve-just-got-to-learn/) [Paul Millsap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-millsap/) > [“You wonder why I don’t answer your 3 a.m. phone calls. When you say “I miss you”, I begin to undress myself out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-demulder/you-wonder-why-i-don-t-answer-your-3-a-m-phone-calls-when-you-say-i/) [Sierra Demulder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-demulder/) > [Whenever Teacher calls 'anyone of you come here' I see around...!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabassum/whenever-teacher-calls-anyone-of-you-come-here-i-see-around/) [Tabassum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabassum/) > [We hope that the elected officials will respond positively to a ground swell of letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from parents. The law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-hope-that-the-elected-officials-will-respond-positively-to-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If Leonardo DiCaprio calls, I'll hang out with him, sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-o-connor/if-leonardo-dicaprio-calls-i-ll-hang-out-with-him-sure/) [Josh O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-o-connor/) > [God Calls Collect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-aaron/god-calls-collect/) [C Aaron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-aaron/) > [The phone will always ring. If I leave it even for a moment and go some where, by the time I come back there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saswata-chatterjee/the-phone-will-always-ring-if-i-leave-it-even-for-a-moment-and-go/) [Saswata Chatterjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saswata-chatterjee/) > [I text nonstop, and I love emoji. I'm also on the phone quite a bit for work - probably more than 10 calls per day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-spiegel/i-text-nonstop-and-i-love-emoji-i-m-also-on-the-phone-quite-a-bit-for/) [Evan Spiegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-spiegel/) > [I hate when I guy calls me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/i-hate-when-i-guy-calls-me/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [We've probably gotten 500 calls from people saying what the heck is going on with gas, and I gotta say I agree with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/we-ve-probably-gotten-500-calls-from-people-saying-what-the-heck-is/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [Obviously, if Woody Allen calls and says he wants you to read a script, of course you read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/obviously-if-woody-allen-calls-and-says-he-wants-you-to-read-a-script/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Ending poverty calls for humility, honesty, freedom from ideology and refusal to accept cruel simplicities about anyone's human potential. It requires listening to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/ending-poverty-calls-for-humility-honesty-freedom-from-ideology-and/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [People who work with me think I should cut my hair. They say casting directors are less likely to hire me with long hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/people-who-work-with-me-think-i-should-cut-my-hair-they-say-casting/) [Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/) [Browse all 420 Calls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calls/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the 'New York Times' revealed the warrantless surveillance of voice calls, in December 2005, the telephone companies got nervous.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barton Gellman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-warrantless-surveillance-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Calls" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-warrantless-surveillance-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/070/barton-gellman-3126_calls_when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-war_2267533.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the 'New York Times' revealed the warrantless surveillance of voice calls, in December 2005, the…” — Barton Gellman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barton Gellman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When the 'New York Times' revealed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-warrantless-surveillance-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/when-the-new-york-times-revealed-the-warrantless-surveillance-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```