FOI reveals Australian Government knew about Prism surveillance
A Freedom of Information response has disclosed that the Australian government knew of the NSA’s massive Prism undisclosed surveillance apparatus, “at least two months” before it was reported in the media.
The ABC lodged the FOI request
The FOI request was made by the ABC network.
“Officials in the Attorney General's Department prepared a secret briefing for the minister on Prism in March 2013, more than two months before the first story was published revealing the electronic surveillance and data mining program undertaken covertly by US agencies,” The Guardian reported.
“The ABC's FoI request has confirmed that a protected brief was prepared for the Australian attorney general on Prism on 21 March 2013.
“That document was withheld from release by the Attorney General's Department on national security grounds.”
"The Australian government has tried to be completely opaque about this,” said Senator Scott Ludlam.
“And what we find are attorneys general, either of the Labor or the Liberal variety, will just wave their hands and say 'national security', and that's meant to make you stop asking questions."