Yahoo was told to give user data to U.S. government, or face $250,000-a-day fine


Court documents unsealed on Thursday revealed that in 2008, the U.S. government threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day if the company did not give up user communications.
In a statement, Yahoo said it was "required to assist the U.S. government in acquiring foreign intelligence information through the surveillance of targets reasonably believed to be located outside the United States." The company refused, arguing it was unconstitutional and violated users' Fourth Amendment rights. The government took its case to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which ruled that Yahoo needed to comply. The company was threatened with the $250,000 daily fine after it decided to file an appeal, but then began to cooperate while still fighting; Yahoo later lost the appeal.
This decision, The Washington Post reports, was a "key moment" in the development of PRISM, the program that gave the NSA broad authority to obtain data from tech giants like Facebook and Google through secret court orders. Through PRISM, the NSA was able to gather more than 250 million communications in 2011 alone.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on Chicago
Talking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Sudoku medium: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections