The NSA has obtained direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and at least six other Internet companies. The data gathered is to try to spot terrorist activity in communications between people in and outside the U.S. The NSA data-collecting program, called PRISM, started in 2007. With court approval and congressional oversight, the PRISM program appears to be legal. However, being legal does not necessarily mean it is good public policy, expert says. The intelligence community’s need to gather large amounts of data was outlined in March by Ira “Gus” Hunt.”]