On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Yahoo built a software program to search its customers’ incoming emails. The program allegedly was developed last year after a classified demand from either the National Security Agency or the FBI.
Reuters said that its sources told the publication that the agencies asked Yahoo to search for a “set of characters”—which could mean a phrase found in the body of an email or in an attachment.
Reuters wasn’t able to confirm whether other internet companies have received similar requests, but it reported that Yahoo’s decision to comply was made by its chief executive, Marissa Mayer. The decision allegedly caused internal discord.
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer chose to obey the directive, Reuters reported, a decision that prompted then-Chief Information Security Officer Alex Stamos to leave the company in June 2015. Stamos reportedly told people working for him that a programming flaw could give hackers access to customers' stored emails. He is now Facebook's security chief.
Yahoo gave a terse statement in response to the report, choosing to mainly remain quiet. The NSA and Stamos aren’t saying anything, either.
Reuters reported:
"Yahoo is a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States," the company said in a brief statement in response to Reuters questions about the demand. Yahoo declined any further comment.
Through a Facebook spokesman, Stamos declined a request for an interview.
The NSA referred questions to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which declined to comment.
So far, Yahoo is the only email provider found to have conducted an email search of this magnitude. As the news broke, other internet companies scrambled to distance themselves from the news.
Reuters reported:
"We've never received such a request, but if we did, our response would be simple: 'No way'," a spokesman for Google said in a statement.
A Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, "We have never engaged in the secret scanning of email traffic like what has been reported today about Yahoo." The company declined to comment on whether it had received such a request.
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Like Google, Facebook opposed giving up information to government agencies. CNet reported:
Facebook has never received a request like the one described in these news reports from any government, and if we did we would fight it," a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.
Apple and Twitter gave similar statements:
“We have never received a request of this type,” an Apple spokesman said in a statement. “If we were to receive one, we would oppose it in court.”
Twitter went so far as to note that it is currently suing the US government for the ability to share more about government demands for information.
“We’ve never received a request like this, and were we to receive it we’d challenge it in a court,” a Twitter spokesman said in a statement. “Separately, while federal law prohibits companies from being able to share information about certain types of national security related requests, we are currently suing the Justice Department for the ability to disclose more information about government requests.”
Mayer’s decision to obey the directive is lending itself to criticism. CNet reported:
Patrick Toomey, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in an emailed statement that the government directive appeared to be "unprecedented and unconstitutional."
Further, he criticized Yahoo for complying without a fight. "It is deeply disappointing that Yahoo declined to challenge this sweeping surveillance order," Toomey said, "because customers are counting on technology companies to stand up to novel spying demands in court."
“It’s not clear what Yahoo’s userbase will think of the news, or if it will affect the company’s $4.8 billion sale to Verizon,” Business Insider reported. The publication then listed instructions for deleting your Yahoo account.
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