Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Apple, Google, Microsoft: We Have No Government Email Scanning Program Like Yahoo's (vocativ.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the business-as-usual dept.

Apple, Google and Microsoft -- three of the largest technology companies in the U.S. -- have each said they don't scan all incoming messages for the U.S. government, which is exactly what Yahoo does. According to Reuters, Yahoo secretly built a custom software program last year to search all of its customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by U.S. intelligence officials. The company complied with a classified U.S. government directive, scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts at the behest of the National Security Agency or FBI. Vocativ reports: In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson told Vocativ that "We have never engaged in the secret scanning of email traffic like what has been reported today about Yahoo." While Apple declined to give a statement on the record, a representative for the company did, in response to Vocativ's question, refer to CEO Tim Cook's official letter on consumer privacy, which reads in part: "I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will." The fact that both the companies declined further statement means it's not yet known if the NSA or FBI approached them to request they build a program like Yahoo's. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Alphabet's Google issued a statement to CNBC: "We've never received such a request, but if we did, our response would be simple: 'no way.'" [The spokesperson later clarified that the company has not received a "directive" or "order" to that effect, either, according to The Intercept.] But the question is whether or not you believe them. With Yahoo's case, only a handful of employees knew about the program. The same could be true with Apple, Google, Microsoft or any other large tech company. Edward Snowden tweeted not too long after Reuters' report surfaced: "Heads up: Any major email service not clearly, categorically denying this tomorrow -- without careful phrasing -- is as guilty as Yahoo."

4 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Re:U.S.A. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Informative

    its worse than that. all major pipes to and from ANYWHERE are going thru US owned routers, core and otherwise.

    That is why any data in transit should be encrypted. "They" can still do traffic analysis, and see who is talking to whom, but that can be ameliorated by using proxies and sending dummy traffic.

  2. PRISM by SumDog · · Score: 4, Informative

    Did everyone forget about PRISM? I feel like everyone forgot about PRISM.

    The PRISM leak states that every one of this big companies, MS, Google, Facebook, have dedicated software hooks for searching any record, anytime.

    Or is Edward Snowden is limited hangout, and everything he said coming straight from the CIA?

    1. Re:PRISM by freeze128 · · Score: 4, Informative

      I remember PRISM. I also remember that when its existence was leaked, Google specifically went out of their way to ENCRYPT traffic between their data centers to prevent the PRISM from capturing any useful data. Before the leak, Google was unaware that any data capture was going on.

      PRISM wasn't a Google initiative, it was an NSA initiative.

  3. Re:I call bullshit on MS by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

    Bullshit.

    Proof: Microsoft (R) Online Services Global Criminal Compliance Handbook

    That handbook is about specific information requested through proper legal channels, such as a subpoena, warrant or an NSL. All companies are required to comply with those. It is not about scanning all email for keywords like TFA is describing. Perhaps Microsoft is doing what Yahoo did, but your link is not proof of that.