The suspicion among internet democracy and civil liberty activists that the behemoth databases and servers of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Skype have for long been used by intelligence agencies in the United States (US) now stands confirmed. Edward Snowden, a contractor for the secretive US National Security Agency (NSA), bravely leaked confidential and classified documents to The Guardian in early June which confirmed the existence of an electronic surveillance programme code-named PRISM. Launched in 2007, PRISM enabled the NSA to perform in-depth surveillance on electronic communications and data by accessing servers of several “participating technology companies”.
