Some folks have made mention of how the denials from some of the service carriers contain the word "directly". So, that raised the question, what does that imply? Well, the answer may lie in a diary written over 3 1/2 years ago by a now inactive Kossack. More below the fold:
In this diary, Kossack American Pie warned of how we might be signing away our privacy without even knowing it:
If you use Verizon Wireless, you recently received a letter printed on the outside with:
"Important Information Regarding Your Privacy"
DO NOT THROW THIS AWAY!- it is, indeed, very important.
.
The diary goes onto explain that, unless you chose to opt out, Verizon would be permitted to data mine your history. According to American Pie, Verizon promised not to sell your data to third parties,
but the history of companies keeping such promises is very poor.
Some stories have suggested that the NSA has been receiving data from a third party, rather than directly from the service providers. The service providers can maintain a fig leaf by selling to someone who then sells to the NSA. In other words, not "directly".
Now, the fact is that laws have already been passed to preclude civil suits against telecom companies who allow data mining by the government. But you can still opt out to disallow data mining, and make the legal issue more ticklish for them. Laws can be overturned, and the companies would then have no legal rationale for selling your data. If we are to overturn this massive violation of privacy, we need to start with small steps.
Contact your service provider(s), and tell them that you choose to refuse permission to allow any data mining on your account(s). It's not much, but it's a start. Anf from now on, read everything they send you.