The NSA access is part of a previously undisclosed program called PRISM, 6-year-old program which allows officials to collect real-time information and as well as stored material including search history, the content of emails, file transfers and live chats. Facebook, Apple and Google deny the company’s alleged participation in PRISM. GCHQ, Britain’s equivalent of the NSA, also has been secretly gathering intelligence from the same internet companies through an operation set up by the NSA. The White House and members of Congress said that the government routinely seeks information in its fight to thwart domestic and international terrorism.
Source: https://thehackernews.com/2013/06/nsas-prism-spy-program-mining-data-from.html