Also, no matter how much we dislike such arguments, there's no such thing as "many of us at AT&T were disturbed by what we've been hearing about the NSA". The people who work for AT&T are AT&T. They all share the burden of what AT&T did.
This isn't some insensitive, extremist whining. I know, from personal experience, how hard it is to reflect on the ethics of the bigger picture you fit in. I'm not insinuating we should now start lynching AT&T employees, since we can't get at the bigger fish. However, a lot of employees who are disgruntled at the social and ethical behaviour of their company actually have an option to leave; this would be a correct approach, not complaining about not being able to talk to bystanders.
"Collective" responsibility is, by no means, absolving of personal responsibility. Even AT&T imply it on their careers page:
> At AT&T, we’re connecting the world like never before. Ready to get in on the action? Together we’ll do great things.