What is PRISM?
A classified NSA surveillance program revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013 that collects data directly from major tech companies including Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft.
PRISM is one of the most significant mass surveillance programs ever disclosed, revealed through documents leaked by NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
What It Collects
- Email content and metadata
- Chat logs and messages
- Video and voice calls
- Photos and stored files
- Social networking details
- Login activity
Participating Companies (2013 disclosure)
Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Apple, YouTube, Skype, AOL, PalTalk
Legal Basis
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorizes collection targeting non-US persons outside the US. However, Americans' communications are routinely swept up in the process.
Impact
The Snowden revelations fundamentally changed the privacy landscape:
- Accelerated adoption of end-to-end encryption
- Led to creation of Signal, improvements to Tor
- Sparked the "privacy by default" movement
- Companies began publishing transparency reports
Related Terms
Five Eyes
An intelligence alliance between the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand that shares surveillance data and signals intelligence. Privacy advocates consider Five Eyes countries higher risk for hosting privacy-focused services.
Metadata
Data about data. In the context of communications, metadata includes information like who you contacted, when, for how long, and from where—everything except the actual content of your message. Metadata can reveal intimate details about your life even when content is encrypted.
National Security Letter
An administrative subpoena issued by U.S. federal agencies (primarily the FBI) for national security investigations. NSLs come with gag orders preventing recipients from disclosing their existence, making them controversial tools of surveillance.
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