Google, Apple and Facebook Outright Deny They’re Helping the NSA Mine Data(allthingsd.com)
allthingsd.com
Google, Apple and Facebook Outright Deny They’re Helping the NSA Mine Data
http://allthingsd.com/20130606/google-and-apple-outright-deny-theyre-helping-the-nsa-mine-data/
4 comments
Admit to colluding with NSA is illegal - you could go to jail for revealing the truth.
I am beginning to wonder if this might be a hoax. Could this have really gone for years without leaking from any of these companies? Engineers tend to be pretty freedom-minded . . . and the slides . . . they don't look real. I guess we'll see soon enough. (Edit: I am speaking only about PRISM. The phone record thing seems pretty cut and dry.)
These sorts of orders are all gag-ordered by default. They have to lie to everyone about their existence, including co-workers and spouses, or they go immediately to jail.
It's a matter of individual criminal liability. Stop thinking of a corporation as a single entity for a second.
It's a matter of individual criminal liability. Stop thinking of a corporation as a single entity for a second.
I can understand "no comment" but can a government order me to lie unless I am in its direct employ?
This is a memo sent to Verizon employees today from Verizon's general counsel. Please note bullet point #2.
http://publicpolicy.verizon.com/blog/entry/from-the-desk-of-...
http://publicpolicy.verizon.com/blog/entry/from-the-desk-of-...
Yes. They coerce agreement from the company you work for, that is covered by national security laws. They can arrest you for almost anything under the banner of national security. That's not an exaggeration. Now, you might get off eventually, but they can royally destroy your life with a flick of their power.
So is this the real issue? Should there be an investigation on whether or not it's acceptable to issue gag-orders so leniently?
Various news sources say they've confirmed it with a number of sources. So it's not a hoax.
The details and implications may not be what we think, but the program is real.
The details and implications may not be what we think, but the program is real.
I don't now if the graph is real (http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/audio/video...), but Microsoft bought Skype in 2011. :)
But Google bought Youtbe in 2006. What's the delay?
For YouTube? The 'tone' of YouTube comments is different from that of, say, web sites or regular emails, so one could guess that their software to parse the comments and get real information from them wasn't good enough to be worth it before.
"Said Apple spokesman Steve Dowling in a statement today, “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.”"
The existence of this program is classified top secret. I doubt a spokesperson has the security clearance to even know about the program. Even if he did have such a clearance, it would be illegal for him to disclose any information about the program.
I'm not sure that's as strong a denial as it first appears. There article alleges there was a court order for the request. Here's a copy of the document Verizon allegedly received: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/jun/06/veri...