And so the shit hits the fan
You must've all heard about it by now. The Guardian and WashPo already blew the whistle about this top-secret surveillance program that provided the NSA with access to user data on the servers of companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Skype, Youtube, Apple, Dropbox, etc, etc. Some of those have been involved in the program for years (Microsoft since 2007, Apple a bit more recently). Curiously, Twitter is absent from the list.
Most of them of course hastened to come out with statements denying any knowledge of this PRISM program, like for example Apple:
"We have never heard of PRISM. We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer data must get a court order."
Their VP Al Gore tweeted:
"In digital era, privacy must be a priority. Is it just me, or is secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous?"
This PRISM thingy seems to be going rather deeply, as intel collected from there allegedly regularly appears on the POTUS's briefings, concerning intelligence reports. This is actually quite curious:
"PRISM is an heir, in one sense, to a history of intelligence alliances with as many as 100 trusted U.S. companies since the 1970s. The NSA calls these Special Source Operations, and PRISM falls under that rubric.
The Silicon Valley operation works alongside a parallel program, code-named BLARNEY, that gathers up "metadata" -- address packets, device signatures and the like -- as it streams past choke points along the backbone of the Internet. BLARNEY's top-secret program summary, set down alongside a cartoon insignia of a shamrock and a leprechaun hat, describes it as "an ongoing collection program that leverages IC [intelligence community] and commercial partnerships to gain access and exploit foreign intelligence obtained from global networks.""
In theory, this program can collect data on foreign operatives, but it's also possible that the NSA can pick up undisclosed amounts of data related to American citizens without any oversight. It's not like Apple's privacy policy doesn't allow for such sort of data disclosure:
"It may be necessary - by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence - for Apple to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate."
The two WashPo and Guardian articles have much more info on this PRISM monster, including a presentation showing the most "top secret" parts of the program. The whistleblower that leaked it all is also known now, one Edward Snowden who used to be an undercover CIA employee. Some serious Assange-style witch-hunt is expected to commence any time now, I suspect.
Meanwhile, the Director of National Intelligence has come up with a press release, accusing the two newspapers of allowing too many inaccuracies, and assuring the public that any data collecting is limited to non-US citizens who reside outside US territory:
"Section 702 is a provision of FISA [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] that is designed to facilitate the acquisition of foreign intelligence information concerning non-U.S. persons located outside the United States. It cannot be used to intentionally target any U.S. citizen, any other U.S. person, or anyone located within the United States.
Activities authorized by Section 702 are subject to oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Executive Branch, and Congress. They involve extensive procedures, specifically approved by the court, to ensure that only non-U.S. persons outside the U.S. are targeted, and that minimize the acquisition, retention and dissemination of incidentally acquired information about U.S. persons."
Which of course doesn't make the program any less alarming to foreign governments, as is evident from some of the reactions from some of the US allies. For example, German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Peter Schaar, condemned the program as "monstrous". And Sophie in 't Veld, a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, called PRISM "a violation of EU laws".
And both Obama's political foes and all the Alex-Jones-type of conspiracy junkies have gotten yet another battle cry after "Benghaziiiii", and "IRS!!!!", and all the rest of the string of scandals that have recently come up.
This is gunna end well, I suppose.....