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?
The French have been up in arms about this program when documents leaked about the PRISM program indicated that the U.S. had conducted some surveillance on the French Embassy in Washington and had done some online spying on officials of the European Union – which are supposed to be staunch allies of the U.S. “We have never seen such an infringement on individual freedoms, to such a large scale, from a foreign nation and it potentially affects all French citizens and all French internet users when they use Google, Microsoft, Apple, Skype and other companies,” said attorney Emmanuel Daoud, who is representing the two human-rights groups.
What are your thoughts about Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and the others’ involvement in this program? Do you think there is a level of accountability here for these companies against those privacy concerns by these and other human-rights groups? Do you think investors like fund manager David Einhorn (see his full equity portfolio) will pay much attention to this lawsuit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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