If you’re a keen follower of TV shows, then you must’ve heard of Person of Interest by now. I had also included it in the list of the must watch TV shows for geeks. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s a show that plays on the theme of a secret surveillance system that spies on everyone. And it seems like Yahoo’s top management had no problem in complying with US Government directives to search all their customer’s emails, according to a Reuters report.
The US Government Backdoor
A classified US Government directive (either by the NSA or FBI) was reportedly sent to Yahoo to scan all the emails their customers received on a daily basis. This led to “scanning hundreds of millions of Yahoo Mail accounts” according to the report. This decision to comply with government demands led to tension within the top management at Yahoo, which eventually ended with the departure of Chief Information Security Officer Alex Stamos in June 2015.
Yahoo is a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States – Yahoo’s response to Reuters.
This is exactly the kind of privacy invasion that people like Edward Snowden have been raising alarm bells for. But, there have been two sides of this coin and they were more pronounced in the recent San Bernadino mass shooting case where Apple was requested to officially provide a backdoor on their iPhones.
Ethics Debate Rages, But Privacy Won’t Wait
While the on-going debate of ethics in the case of privacy rages on, there are several cases of directives been sent to several tech companies. Yahoo’s compliance to the directive only means that you need to deactivate your Yahoo mail account, if you are concerned about privacy. It’s not a question of what you’re sharing on your personal mail but the right to privacy.
It’s as good a time as any to get rid of the old Yahoo mail account for users. We recommend you to back-up your important mails before proceeding. To disable your Yahoo mail account, go to the Delete Yahoo User page and enter your Yahoo mail id and password. Next, you’ll be prompted to confirm your password, enter a moving captcha and confirm that you want to delete your account. Once you’re done with these, say goodbye to your concerns with Yahoo mail forever.
Other Privacy Concern?
It’s not an easy debate to have, but privacy on the internet is a topic that needs a broader perspective on things with highly specialized people in the midst of it all. However, if you have any concerns regarding it, do let us know in the comments section.
Last updated on 03 February, 2022
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
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