Microsoft and Skype shared email and video chat data with NSA

The Guardian has now revealed more top-secret documents alleging that both Skype and Microsoft gave away the content of email and video chat to U.S. spy agencies. However, it is not clear whether the collection of this data was targeted at specific groups or countries since the language of the documents indicate that the NSA may not have needed an individual warrant for each request.

"Collaborative teamwork was the key to the successful addition of another provider to the Prism system. This success is the result of the FBI working for many months with Microsoft to get this tasking and collection solution established," read the document.

The NSA reportedly had access to pre-encrypted data on Hotmail, Live, Outlook.com email. In addition, the NSA agents were also happy with  Skype's wiretap call quality as revealed by the documents, "Feedback indicated that a collected Skype call was very clear and the metadata looked complete."

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011, but Skype was reportedly cooperating with federal agencies before the acquisition. This again reveals how US security agencies are barging into user data of other country citizens.