Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook Deny Involvement in Government Spying Program The big tech companies claim they haven't heard of the National Security Agency's program called PRISM.

By Jay Yarow

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Jason Reed | Reuters
Apple CEO Tim Cook

There's a bombshell report tonight that nine leading tech companies are knowingly giving information on users to the U.S. Government

The program is called PRISM and it reportedly involved Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Apple.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have all come out to deny participation in the program.

We have each of their statements here.

A spokesperson for Apple emphatically denied that it is handing over user information telling us: "We have never heard of PRISM. 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."

Here's the statement from Facebook: "We do not provide any government organization with direct access to Facebook servers. When Facebook is asked for data or information about specific individuals, we carefully scrutinize any such request for compliance with all applicable laws, and provide information only to the extent required by law,."

And here's Google's statement, given to AllThingsD: "Google cares deeply about the security of our users' data. We disclose user data to government in accordance with the law, and we review all such requests carefully. From time to time, people allege that we have created a government "back door' into our systems, but Google does not have a "back door' for the government to access private user data."

Microsoft spokesperson: "We provide customer data only when we receive a legally binding order or subpoena to do so, and never on a voluntary basis. In addition we only ever comply with orders for requests about specific accounts or identifiers. If the government has a broader voluntary national security program to gather customer data we don't participate in it."

The PRISM program allegedly allowed the NSA and FBI to tap directly into the central servers of the companies. From there, they could get user photos, emails, documents and more. This was all done in cooperation with big tech companies, according to the report.

However, the tech companies are now responding. We'll be covering this story as it unfolds and updating with any more information we come up with.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Leadership

You're the Bottleneck — How to Master the Art of Delegation In the Year Ahead

A leader who fails to empower employees can become a bottleneck in the business. Here are three strategies for learning how to hand off responsibilities to your team and embrace a culture of trust so you can all move forward together.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Side Hustle

She Spent Her Honeymoon Working on a Side Hustle. It Raised $35 Million and Counts Celebrities Among Its Investors.

Blake Geffen, founder of luxury accessory rental company Vivrelle, "skipped the bellinis" in the Maldives — and got to work on her company instead.

Data & Recovery

This Software Designed for Families Can Also Improve Work Life

Block ads and protect your privacy at work with a lifetime subscription to AdGuard

Growing a Business

How AI Is Transforming the SEO Playbook — and What Businesses Must Do to Ensure Long-Term Relevance and Visibility

As AI-driven search evolves, traditional keyword SEO is giving way to entity optimization, a smarter, intent-driven approach that prioritizes relationships and context. Learn how entity SEO is reshaping search and why it's the key to staying competitive in an AI-powered world.

Business News

ChatGPT Can Now Complete a Major Task That Would Take a Human Up to 30 Days. Here's How it Works.

The AI now has the capability to browse the Internet and write a research paper based on what it finds.