Internet Companies Deny Offering Government Access to Customer Data
ABC News' Abby Phillip, Steven Portnoy and Joanna Stern report:
The National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have been tapping into the servers of major Internet companies to collect audio, video, photographs, e-mails and other documents, according to a Washington Post report on a program code-named PRISM.
However, an Obama administration official said the data collection only targets non-Americans outside the United States, and companies reportedly tied to PRISM told ABC News they did not routinely give the government direct access to private data.
"We have never heard of PRISM," read an emailed statement from Apple. "We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer data must get a court order."
http://news.yahoo.com/internet-companies-deny-offering-government-access-customer-data-011911660--abc-news-politics.html