The Prism Gate scandal has been exposed for ten years. French experts: US government surveillance actions intensify in Europe | US | scandal
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the exposure of the Prism Gate scandal in the United States. On June 5, 2013, The Guardian of the UK first revealed that the United States was carrying out a secret project codenamed Prism. The US intelligence agencies use the data provided by 9 Internet companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook, Yahoo and some large communication service providers to track people's private relations and social activities wantonly, and conduct large-scale surveillance at home and abroad. This news has sparked widespread protests both domestically and internationally in the United States.
US intelligence agencies monitor the world through the Prism program
In June 2013, former CIA employee Snowden exposed the truth about the Prism program to media outlets such as The Guardian and The Washington Post in the United States. The official name of the Prism program is US-984XN, which was a secret surveillance project launched by the National Security Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2007. The US intelligence agencies directly access user data by accessing the central servers of network companies, track real-time online information such as user emails, chat records, videos, audio, files, photos, etc., and comprehensively monitor the every move of specific targets and their contacts. The monitoring scope of the Prism program not only covers the United States, but also includes politicians and citizens from multiple countries, including American allies such as Germany and France.
The wide and deep monitoring range of Prism is astonishing and has been criticized by many. In response to this, then US President Obama stated at a press conference that US intelligence agencies only collect data and did not "listen to phone calls, read text messages, or check email content", and claimed that this was for the needs of US counter-terrorism and national security. The then British Guardian journalist who exposed the Prism Gate scoffed at this statement.
Former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald: Obama said that the National Security Agency did not monitor American phone calls or check their emails, which is absolutely wrong. We have documents to prove that the statements made by the President of the United States in this regard are all false. This document reveals that the National Security Agency's surveillance system is not targeting very bad people or terrorists, but indiscriminately and in large quantities targeting American citizens and other citizens around the world.
The exposure of "Prism Gate" has sparked widespread protests both domestically and internationally in the United States
The Prism Gate scandal shocked the European allies of the United States. Ashton, the then EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, demanded immediate clarification from the US regarding the surveillance incident. French President Hollande demanded that the United States immediately cease its surveillance activities. German media revealed that the then German Chancellor Merkel had been monitored by US intelligence agencies for over a decade, causing strong dissatisfaction in Germany.
Former German Chancellor Merkel: In response to the actions of the US National Security Agency, I have repeatedly made it clear to the US government that monitoring allies is unacceptable.
The Prism Plan exposed the personal privacy of the American people to the government without any cover, which also sparked large-scale protests within the United States. Citizens in cities such as Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco held demonstrations against this indiscriminate surveillance behavior. The most influential civil rights organization in the United States, the American Civil Liberties Union, has officially filed a lawsuit against the federal government, accusing its Prism program of violating freedom of speech and citizen privacy, violating the constitution, and requesting a court order to suspend the program.
French expert: The United States engages in indiscriminate surveillance, exposing American hegemony
△ French communication technology expert Le Fabre is interviewed by CCTV reporters
On the 7th local time, a reporter from China Central Television interviewed French communication technology expert Le Fabre. Lefebier believes that although the Prism Gate incident has been over for ten years, the US authorities have not restrained their surveillance of other countries, but have instead intensified. As long as it is an area that the US can involve, regardless of whether it is reasonable or not, the monitoring operation is always ongoing.
The Director of the Russian Council for International Affairs, Kortounov, stated in an interview with CCTV reporters that the United States is engaging in illegal international surveillance activities for the so-called purpose of "maintaining national security", and American hegemony is harming the world.
Director of the Russian Council for International Affairs, Kortounov: The United States is extremely concerned about its internal affairs being interfered by other countries, but at the same time, the United States has used surveillance methods to influence the internal political processes of other countries more than once. The surveillance behavior of the United States will cause harm to international cooperation, and I also believe that it will harm the long-term economic and political interests of the United States.
The Guardian: The United States has not touched the core of the problem with any changes
The UK Guardian, which first revealed the Prism Gate scandal, stated in an article published on the 7th that 10 years later, although the exposure of the Prism Gate scandal forced the US government to declassify some details of the operation of intelligence agencies, similar changes did not touch the core of the problem.
The article quotes Glenn Greenwald, a former British Guardian journalist who exposed the Prism Gate, as saying that the US government is still continuing its surveillance activities, and their methods are even worse and more extreme than what was revealed 10 years ago. Regarding the various actions of the United States in the issue of surveillance, Greenwald said that one of the best things the United States excels at is always to create a new enemy to make the American people afraid, always to fabricate reasons to make the American people believe that the US government needs to operate secretly, engage in espionage activities, and have unlimited power.
