US tech giants knew of NSA data collection, agency's top lawyer insists
First, even if the companies did know, there was probably a tacit agreement with the NSA that the NSA would always allow them plausible deniability. "Not only are you doing your country a great (and legally-required) service, but everyone involved will go to their graves with the details. Have you heard about how [competitors/famous-companies X, Y, Z] have fully cooperated for decades? You haven't? Exactly."The NSA seems to have been forced by events to break that likely mutual-understanding.Second, what does it mean for a "company" to know something? What if one compartmentalized group of employees know – perhaps ex-military/intelligence people themselves – and believe they are both compelled to comply and to keep the full details from upper management (for everyone's protection)?Does that count as the "company" knowing? I could see the CEOs saying, as they have, "no", and the NSA saying, as they are here, "yes".