NSA paid tech companies millions to cover cost of PRISM compliance

Xeni Jardin

9:59 pm Fri, Aug 23, 2013

Sourcing its story on files provided by whistleblower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the Guardian reported today that the NSA paid millions to cover costs associated with PRISM compliance to tech companies including Google and Yahoo. The top-secret files referenced in the Guardian’s report today amount to the first publicly shared evidence of a financial relationship between the US agency and internet service providers.

The costs in question were incurred after a 2011 FISA court ruling.

Charlie Savage at the New York Times digs into the story here.

Fact NSA pays providers for cost of complying w/ orders unremarkable. But why cost millions to implement the extension of a certification?
— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) August 23, 2013