Yahoo has been accused of searching the incoming emails of its users on behalf of the US government. It is believed that the tech company built a custom software program for this purpose. Three former employees and a fourth person privy to information said that the company agreed to a classified US government demand.
According to Reuters, some experts have claimed it to be the first instance where a US technology company searched for all the incoming emails on the request of a spy agency, instead of scanning only stored messages or select accounts. It is reported that intelligence officials were looking for a set of characters.
In the wake of this disclosure, major technology companies including Google, Facebook and Twitter have categorically declined to be a part of email scan program of National Security Agency (NSA). A Google spokesperson said that the company never received any such request and if it had, it would have responded 'no way.' Microsoft also released a similar statement.
Yahoo, responding to Reuters, said, "Yahoo is a law-abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States." Reuters claimed that the incident led to the departure of the company's Chief Information Security Officer Alex Stamos, who now works with Facebook.
The NSA makes such requests through Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It is, therefore, difficult to figure out which agency was seeking the information.