Tech companies essential part of NSA?s PRISM program

Documents leaked by Edward Snowden not only publicly revealed the existence and extent of the now famous PRISM program but also the essential role of major tech companies – a role that could engender a backlash with implications for the future structure of the industry.

PRISM is a government code name for a secret electronic surveillance data mining program, officially known as US-984XN. According to Snowden's data summarized by Politico, Microsoft, “... helped the NSA circumvent encryption on Outlook.com Web chats, enable access to its SkyDrive cloud storage service and collect Skype conversations [note: Skype is now owned by Microsoft].”

But the giant software company was not alone. According to National Public Radio, some nine tech companies have been named in leaked documents as participating in the PRISM program.. The companies are:

• Microsoft
• Yahoo
• Google
• Facebook
• PalTalk
• YouTube
• Skype
• AOL
• Apple

The gravest consequence of the exposure of PRISM may be the response of foreign allies who were targeted by the NSA - the agency running PRISM. For instance, Daniel Castro, of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation said that countries may enact trade laws requiring that their citizens’ data be stored inside the country and restricting companies based in the U.S.  Thus, the tech companies found to have willingly played along with data mining, might also find themselves paying for their actions.

Some companies are moving proactively. For instance, “Google and Microsoft have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow them to disclose specific information about FISA court orders.”

The revelations surrounding PRISM and other secret surveillance programs have had a significant impact on public attitudes. A new Pew Research Center poll found that by a 47 percent to 35 percent margin, most respondents said that their bigger concern about United States anti-terrorism policies is that they go too far in restricting civil liberties, rather than not going far enough to protect the country. This represents a reversal from a 2010 poll in which 47 percent said that anti-terrorism policies did not go far enough, while only 32 percent said they went too far. The new poll also found that 70 percent of respondents said they believe the government data collection goes beyond anti-terrorism efforts.

The debate will continue in the media and in Congress. There will be more hearings and attempts at legislation, but the outcome? That’s months, if not years, away. What we do know is that the tech companies find themselves right smack in the middle of this contentious debate.

PRISM casts a new light on the tech industry (Politico, Jul. 25, 2013)
 
NSA Reportedly Mines Servers Of U.S. Internet Firms For Data (NPR, Jun. 6, 2013)

Surveillance Poll Finds Americans Worried About Government Intrusion On Civil Liberties (July 26, 2013)