A published report says the National Security Agency has collected millions of contact lists from personal email and instant messaging accounts around the world – including those of Americans – in its effort to find links to terrorism or other criminal activity.<\/p>\n
The Washington Post said late Monday it learned about the effort from secret documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden and confirmed by senior intelligence officials.<\/p>\n
The Post says the spy agency intercepts hundreds of thousands of email address books every day from private accounts on Yahoo, Gmail, Facebook and Hotmail. The NSA also collects about a half-million buddy lists daily from chat services and email accounts.<\/p>\n
A government spokesman says the agency gains intelligence on valid targets and has no interest in personal information from ordinary Americans.<\/p>\n
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