Government Surveillance: US Company Balked At NSA Data Demand
An internet company based in the United States refused to comply with orders from the U.S. National Security Agency that compelled it to provide data to facilitate government surveillance programs, declassified documents revealed Wednesday.
The document, which was produced in 2014, does not name the company that chose not to participate in the program, but it is believed the company is an internet provider or a technology firm rather than a telecommunications company.
Read: NSA Surveillance: Agency Collected More Than 150 Million Phone Records In 2016
The company’s refusal to participate in the surveillance program was tied to an apparent expansion of foreign surveillance, but details within the document were redacted and are likely considered classified.
It would mark just the second instance in which an American company refused to comply with a government surveillance order. Yahoo was the first, when it opted not to hand over customer data to the NSA after a request in 2008. The company faced daily fines for its refusal to participate in the program.
The company highlighted in the 2014 document eventually was forced to comply with the request and provide data to the government.
The documents detailing the unnamed company’s decision not to comply with government requests were made public as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The organizations are challenging the government’s use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which grants the bulk collection of data from foreign subjects who use technology products and services from companies in the U.S.
"This challenge to the government's warrantless spying under Section 702 underscores just how controversial this mass surveillance program really is, and why it must be significantly reformed," Ashley Gorski, an attorney at the ACLU's National Security Project, told ZDNet.
Last month, a transparency report published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed the NSA collected more than 151 million records of phone calls in 2016 despite having warrants for just 42 individuals.
Government agencies are able to compel tech companies to provide customer data without acquiring a warrant by sending National Security Letters. The letters often request information while imposing a gag order on the company, which prevents the company from informing a user the government has accessed the information.
Companies have become more willing to push back against government agencies making requests for data. Earlier this year, Microsoft won the right to continue a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of its customers over ongoing gag orders that effectively prevented the company ever from informing a user of a government investigation.
Adobe also succeeded in a challenge over an indefinite gag order, which a federal judge determined was unnecessary and overreaching. Twitter likewise has been an outspoken opponent of the secret subpoenas. The social network won a suit over a government demand to reveal the identity of an anonymous user who had criticized the president.
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