Over a week after the Guardian and the Washington Post first reported that leaked documents showed the National Security Agency accessed user data from nine major tech companies, the extent of those businesses’ involvement in the surveillance program is still far from clear. Though many of the companies linked to the program quickly issued strongly-worded statements denying they gave any government agency direct access to users’ information, experts say questions remain about their exact role in the classified PRISM data collection program.Elizabeth Goitein is an attorney who previously served on the staff of former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and currently is co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at NYU law school’s Brennan Center for Justice. In light of the documents leaked to the press, Goitein told TPM the tech companies’ claim that they did not participate in the NSA’s data collection program is “a head scratcher.”
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=88281