Google Fights to Lift Prism Gag

Google wants to talk. The Internet giant has filed a petition with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for permission to publish top-secret details of FISA requests—the gagging of which, the company claims, violates its First Amendment right to freedom of speech. In a statement, Google explained, “Greater transparency is needed, so today we have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow us to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately.” Google has joined other tech companies in the last week in a mad PR effort to distance themselves from the NSA’s Prism surveillance program.