The 2013 mass surveillance disclosures refer to media reports which revealed operational details of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and its international partners' mass surveillance of foreign nationals and U.S. citizens. Aside from its partnership with federal agencies, the NSA-led surveillance involves extensive cooperation with foreign governments and intelligence agencies of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany, the latter classified in NSA documents as being both a partner and a target. Data collected in foreign countries by XKeyscore, for example, have landed directly on "President Obama's desk". Although disclosures of the general scope of the program were made in 2006,[2] a series of articles attracted significant public attention on 6 June 2013, when documents made public by Edward Snowden were first published simultaneously by The Washington Post and The Guardian. These documents included operational details of the "scale of domestic surveillance", according to journalist Glenn Greenwald.[3] Several days later, President Obama reassured the American public that stringent controls placed by the United States Congress and the FISA Court have ensured that "nobody" is listening to the phone calls of U.S. citizens.[4] On 14 June 2013, the main source of these disclosures, Edward Snowden, was formally charged by U.S. federal prosecutors for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 due to his unauthorized communication and theft of government property. Several weeks later, Snowden, who subsequently fled to Russia via Hong Kong, was granted temporary asylum by the Russian government. This contributed to a deterioration of Russia--United States relations. On 6 August, President Obama made a public appearance on national television where he reiterated that "We don't have a domestic spying program" and "There is no spying on Americans".[5] Despite Obama's reassurances, however, social movements such as Restore the Fourth have arisen as a form of protest against mass surveillance. Domestic spying programmes in other countries such as France, the UK, and India have also been brought to light. On the legal front, the EFF joined a coalition of diverse groups filing lawsuits against the NSA. Several human rights organizations have urged the Obama administration not to persecute, but to protect "whistleblower Snowden". These groups include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, and the Index on Censorship. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_mass_surveillance_disclosures

• published: 29 Aug 2013
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