Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) were the two companies that seemed to be the most complicit with the National Security Agency’s PRISM surveillance program – you know, the one that was revealed by whistleblower and international fugitive Edward Snowden – at least when you consider the tepid non-denial denials the companies revealed in the days following the release of the details of the top-secret online snooping program.
A “complaint against X” lawsuit gives a lot of latitude as to the scope of the investigation and the numbers of companies and U.S. agencies that could be involved in this suit. There were nine companies mentioned in the initial PRISM surveillance program, with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) being the most noteworthy names.
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In a statement, the human-rights firms wrote, “This uncontrolled intrusion into people’s lives is a significant threat to individual liberties and must be curbed at the risk of seeing the rule of law disappear. So the FIDH and LDH have asked a French court to open a judicial investigation into these matters.”
These groups are approaching this lawsuit as the best opportunity to get clarity as to the scope and depth of the PRISM program and how French citizens were ensnared in this program, which was designed to help the U.S. combat terrorism and organized crime. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) were the two companies that seemed to give indications that they had at least some prior knowledge of the program, while the other U.S. companies adamantly denied knowledge and maintained that the NSA did not have any “back-door” access to servers.
Why is this such a big deal for the French?
