WASHINGTON: A Yahoo operation in 2015 to scan the incoming e-mail of its customers for specific information requested by the US government was authorised under a foreign intelligence law, parts of which will expire next year, two US government officials familiar with the matter said. The revelation rekindled a long-running debate in the United States over the proper balance between digital privacy and national security. The collection in question was specifically authorised by a warrant issued by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, said the two government sources, who requested anonymity to speak freely. Yahoo's request came under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the sources said. "The United States only uses signals intelligence for national security purposes, and not for the purpose of indiscriminately reviewing the e-mails or phone calls of ordinary people," Richard Kolko, a spokesman for the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said in a statement.

Source: The Star October 06, 2016 01:41 UTC