What is Project PRISM?

The NSA has been secretly listening to people’s phone calls and tracking them on the internet. Why and how were they doing this? Let’s find out!

What is Project PRISM?

The headquarters of the National Security Agency.

What is the National Security Agency?

The National Security Agency (NSA) is an organisation that works for the government in the United States (US). It is their job to gather information and use it to protect the country. As a way to keep the US safe, the NSA runs projects, one of which is codenamed PRISM.

What happens under Project PRISM?

Project PRISM is used to spy on people, by listening to their private phone calls and even tracking their internet usage! They do this, just in case, they might come across people planning suspicious or dangerous activities.

They also ask companies like Google and Facebook to share people’s information and text messages with them. This is just like your friend sharing your secrets with other people without your permission.

If PRISM is top-secret, how did we find out about it?

PRISM used to be a top-secret project until it was exposed by Edward Snowden in 2013. Snowden used to work with the NSA. He risked his own safety, to let the world know that they were being spied on. This got him into trouble with the government, and he had to flee the US, to live in Russia (far away from the US!).

How did the people respond to the news of Project PRISM?
How did the people respond to the news of Project PRISM?
People protesting against the NSA’s spying. Photo by Fibonacci Blue / CC BY 2.0.; https://live.staticflickr.com/7439/9079613555_9474ae80a3_h.jpg

Upon finding out about PRISM, people felt angry and betrayed by the government. They felt unsafe and scared about being recorded when they hadn’t done anything wrong. They felt their right to privacy was being violated.

What can be done to keep our information safe?

We must be careful to not share very private information on websites we may not be sure of. Always ask a parent or elder before sharing any personal information on the internet. Other than that, the internet is always full of endless possibilities and knowledge! Stay safe, and happy surfing!

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