Civil Liberties

European Students Sue U.S. Companies Over NSA Snooping

If you're going to collaborate ...

|

A student group has charged several U.S. technology companies with violations of European law for allegedly cooperating with the NSA to collect data on private citizens.

Known as Europe-v-Facebook (EVF), the group of Austrian students announced Wednesday that it filed formal complaints with the EU against Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Skype, and Yahoo. The group contends that since the five companies do business in Europe through subsidiaries, they fall under European privacy laws.

Such laws allow the export of data only if the company's European subsidiary can guarantee an "adequate level or protection" in the home country. Following the revelations of the National Security Agency's PRISM program, the group believes that the "adequate level of protection" requirement was violated.