PRISM: Apple, Google, Microsoft and 6 other companies reportedly feeding NSA, FBI info through data sharing pact
This article originally appeared on The Next Web
Today the Washington Post reported that through a program known as PRISM, a number of US-based Internet companies allow the US government to tap “directly into [their] central servers.” Companies that are said to be willing participants include: Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, AOL, PalTalk, with Dropbox tipped to be coming up next.
To call this a painfully disgraceful flaunting of user privacy would be understatement. This breaking information follows news first reported by the Guardian of a massive, pervasive spying effort by the US government on the calling data of its own citizens.
According to the Washington Post, Microsoft is listed as the first firm to take part in PRISM. Yahoo, Google, and Facebook were next. Apple appears the most recent addition. According to the report, Apple held out for five years after Microsoft became a part of PRISM. Google claims, according to the Post, that its disclosures remain “in accordance with the law.” We have reached out to the companies involved for comment, and will update this post when we hear back.Image: BMHCHvXCUAA7l3k 520x389 Apple, Google, Microsoft and 6 other companies reportedly feeding NSA, FBI info through data sharing pact
Photo credit: Matthew Keys
What information is the US government accessing?
According to the Post’s report, collected information includes visual content – still and video – audio recording, email, logs of access, and documents. Put another way: all of it. Shame on the government for its actions.It appears that the complicity of each company involved varies, and the Post suggests that Apple resisted most against the program.
There will be legal ramifications to this action, and I cannot parse without legal advice. However, I do expect users to file lawsuits, for the ACLU to involve itself, and other such activities. It isn’t clear how deep the spying has reached; what sort of data is Google sharing? Serach history? User location data?
It becomes difficult to discern what sort of danger your privacy has, and continues to be in as each of the listed companies hosts a number of diverse data sets. Microsoft may know everything from your favorite coffee shop, to your credit card number, to your favorite porn haunt. Google and Apple could know the same things about you, obviously.
What was shared? To whom? How often? And when does it damn well stop? That’s what we need to know, now.
Top Image Credit: HarshLight
