Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg issues statement on PRISM
Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a fiery status update on Friday denying allegations that Facebook is involved in a government program called PRISM.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the NSA and FBI have a direct line to the central servers of Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube and Apple.
According to the Post, a program collects data, like email, voice or video chat, photos, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and file transfers from its partners. Everything from a Facebook status update to emails is alleged to be collected and stored by the NSA.
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All of the companies involved have issued statements denying participation in any government program and say they only give over information when required by law. Facebook denied any involvement and issued a statement on Thursday.
Read Zuckerberg's statement below.
I want to respond personally to the outrageous press reports about PRISM:
Facebook is not and has never been part of any program to give the US or any other government direct access to our servers. We have never received a blanket request or court order from any government agency asking for information or metadata in bulk, like the one Verizon reportedly received. And if we did, we would fight it aggressively. We hadn't even heard of PRISM before yesterday.
When governments ask Facebook for data, we review each request carefully to make sure they always follow the correct processes and all applicable laws, and then only provide the information if is required by law. We will continue fighting aggressively to keep your information safe and secure.
We strongly encourage all governments to be much more transparent about all programs aimed at keeping the public safe. It's the only way to protect everyone's civil liberties and create the safe and free society we all want over the long term.
