Question

It was recently revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was tapping into the data centers of companies like ! and to collect information from account holders worldwide based on court-approved explicit access through its program. What program was used by the NSA for this data collection?

a) Operation Prism
b) Project X
c) Operation Vault
d) Program Sentinel

Answer 1

The NSA used Operation Prism for data collection, contributing to the debate on surveillance and civil liberties. Snowden's leaks highlighted the extent of government surveillance, and recent court decisions like Carpenter v. United States emphasize the need for a warrant to collect certain types of data.

Step-by-step explanation:

The program used by the National Security Agency (NSA) for data collection was known as Operation Prism. This program is a part of the wider scrutiny and debate on practices of surveillance by governmental agencies. The discussion on government powers and civil liberties notably intensified following the leaks provided by Edward Snowden, who at the time was a former NSA contractor. Snowden's disclosures shed light on several surveillance activities, including Operation Prism, which involves tapping into data centers of major tech companies to collect information globally.

In terms of broader context, there has been significant concern over laws like the USA PATRIOT Act and the balance between national security and individual privacy rights. The Carpenter v. United States case highlighted these concerns, leading to the ruling that police require a search warrant to collect phone location data. The European counterpart tends to have more stringent laws on the retention and use of private data by companies, making it more difficult for governments to access this data.