Skip to main content

Yahoo becomes the first company to disclose secretive national security letters

Yahoo has become the first company to disclose details of three national security letters (NSLs) to the public. The company is able to make this announcement as a result of recent changes to the USA Freedom Act.

An NSL is a type of subpoena used by the United States federal government to request information pertinent to matters of national security. This communication is typically accompanied by a nondisclosure agreement that prohibits the recipient from making the request known to the public.

Recommended Videos

However, the enactment of the USA Freedom Act introduced a stipulation that forces the FBI to periodically assess whether nondisclosure requirements associated with particular NSLs are still warranted. If there’s no reason to keep the request under wraps, the gag order is lifted and the recipient can make the information known if they see fit.

Yahoo has opted to disclose three NSLs received in April 2013, August 2013, and June 2015 in an effort to reinforce its values relating to transparency and user privacy. The company has made correspondence from the FBI available online, but of course has redacted any information relating to specific user accounts.

The company complied to all three of the requests, to the full extent of its ability and the requirements of the law. Yahoo offered up the name, address, and length of service for each of the accounts listed in two of the NSLs, but was unable to supply any information in response to the third as the requested account was not found in its system.

“We believe there is value in making these documents available to the public to promote an informed discussion about the legal authorities available to law enforcement,” reads an accompanying blog post by Chris Madsen, Yahoo’s Head of Global Law Enforcement, Security, and Safety. “They also demonstrate the importance of hard-fought reforms to surveillance law achieved with passage of the USA Freedom Act.”

Brad Jones
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more
Early Prime Day deal: Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G3 at its annual low price
Samsung Odyssey G3 gaming monitor on desk with keyboard and headset.

If you're ready to upgrade your monitor, this Samsung deal over at Amazon just might be your best bet. The 27-inch version of Samsung's Odyssey G3 is $130 right now, a full $100 off its regular $230 price and its lowest price of the year. It's a part of early Prime Day deals and a good sampling of what we can expect for the shopping holiday, which officially lands on July 8th. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why we like this deal and why this should be your next monitor.

Buy Now

Read more