PRISM (surveillance program)

PRISM (surveillance program)
source
Name	PRISM
Type	Electronic surveillance
Location	United States
Agency	National Security Agency
Launched	2007
Disclosed	June 2013
Status	Active

PRISM (surveillance program). PRISM is a clandestine electronic surveillance program operated by the National Security Agency of the United States under the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The program's existence was classified until it was disclosed to the public in June 2013 by former Central Intelligence Agency contractor Edward Snowden through journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras at The Guardian and The Washington Post. The program's core function involves the collection of internet communications from major U.S. technology companies for foreign intelligence purposes, sparking a global debate on mass surveillance, civil liberties, and government secrecy.

Overview

PRISM functions as a key source for the National Security Agency's SIGINT mission, providing data used in the President's Daily Brief and informing a significant portion of the agency's intelligence reports. The program is not a data collection tool in the traditional sense but rather a streamlined, legal mechanism for the government to request and receive stored communications from major internet service providers under specific court orders. According to disclosed documents, PRISM collection directly supported the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency in numerous investigations, targeting communications of non-U.S. persons located outside the United States. The program's architecture allowed analysts to query vast databases using selectors like email addresses or IP addresses, with data contributions from companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple Inc., and Facebook.

History and disclosure

The program was established during the administration of President George W. Bush under the Protect America Act of 2007 and was later codified by the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. For years, its operations remained a closely guarded secret within the intelligence community. The paradigm shifted dramatically in June 2013 when Edward Snowden, then a contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton working at the National Security Agency, provided classified documents to journalists. The initial report in The Guardian detailed the program's scope and the involvement of major Silicon Valley firms. This disclosure triggered a series of further revelations about global surveillance, including operations like MUSCULAR and TEMPORA, and led to criminal charges against Snowden under the Espionage Act of 1917. The event precipitated a major diplomatic incident, with Snowden fleeing to Hong Kong and later receiving asylum in Russia.

Technical operation and data collection

Technically, PRISM operates through submission channels where the government serves a company with a directive from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Data is then transmitted electronically from the company to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Data Intercept Technology Unit, which forwards it to the National Security Agency. Collection under this program includes email, instant messaging, video chat, file transfers, social networking details, and stored data. The program's efficiency was highlighted in a 2013 Washington Post presentation slide, which indicated it was one of the most prolific sources for raw intelligence within the National Security Agency. The technical infrastructure is closely related to other SIGINT systems like XKeyscore for analysis and BOUNDLESSINFORMANT for tracking collection statistics.

Legal basis and oversight

The primary legal authority for PRISM is Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which permits the targeting of non-U.S. persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information. The program operates under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which approves targeting and minimization procedures designed to protect the privacy of U.S. persons. These procedures are intended to filter out domestic communications, though incidental collection of American data can occur. The constitutionality of this bulk collection was challenged in cases like Clapper v. Amnesty International USA, where the Supreme Court of the United States dismissed the lawsuit on standing grounds. Subsequent reviews by bodies like the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board have provided both critiques and affirmations of the program's legal framework.

Impact and reactions

The disclosure of PRISM had immediate and profound global repercussions. It strained diplomatic relations, particularly between the United States and allies like Germany, after revelations that the National Security Agency had monitored communications of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Domestically, it ignited a fierce political debate, leading to congressional hearings and the eventual passage of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015, which ended the bulk collection of domestic telephone metadata. Technology companies named in the disclosures, including Yahoo! and Apple Inc., faced public backlash and strengthened their encryption and transparency efforts. Internationally, the scandal influenced legal rulings, such as the European Court of Justice invalidating the EU–US Data Privacy Shield, and inspired global movements for digital rights led by organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Related programs and context

PRISM exists within a broader ecosystem of global signals intelligence operations. It is a component of the National Security Agency's Upstream collection program, which captures internet traffic directly from the backbone of the global telecommunications infrastructure. Other related surveillance efforts include the MUSCULAR program, a joint operation with the Government Communications Headquarters that tapped data links between Google and Yahoo! data centers, and the TEMPORA program for storing large volumes of internet metadata. These programs were part of a wider surveillance architecture revealed by Edward Snowden, which also included the bulk telephone records collection under the PATRIOT Act and the international Five Eyes intelligence alliance comprising agencies from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Category:National Security Agency Category:Mass surveillance Category:Edward Snowden Category:2013 controversies