Protesters hold Snowden masks in Brazil.
Many of the details will come as no surprise to those who have been following Snowden's leaks. Address books and "buddy lists" from many different e-mail and instant messaging services are collected as they pass through global data hubs, with help from foreign intelligence services and telecommunications companies. The program isn't illegal since none of the access points are located in the U.S., but plenty of Americans' data is inadvertently scooped up. According to two senior U.S. intelligence officials, the NSA might have the contact information for millions or tens of millions of Americans.
In response to the report, the NSA pointed out once again that it could not care less about our boring online activities. A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the NSA "is focused on discovering and developing intelligence about valid foreign intelligence targets like terrorists, human traffickers and drug smugglers. We are not interested in personal information about ordinary Americans." So there's absolutely no reason to worry about the program, unless some classmate you instant messaged years ago about homework happens to have a network of shady contacts overseas.