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"The US government used its controversial PRISM programme to investigate less than 300 phones in 2012, with the data gathered helping it thwart terrorist plots in more than 20 countries, new evidence suggests. A newly-declassified document is being circulated by government agencies in an attempt to justify is surveillance activities, which have seen it come under fierce criticism of late.  The Obama administration is now attempting to declassify specific details of the foiled terror plots in a bid to further appease the public, according to The AP.  PRISM&amp;#039;s existence came to light earlier this month when former CIA technical worker Edward Snowden told The Guardian newspaper that the National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI have been harvesting internet data and millions of phone records. The White House has since defended the programme, calling it a &amp;quot;modest encroachment&amp;quot; that is necessary to defend the US from terrorist threats, and insisting that no privacy violations have taken place as the contents of telephone calls remain confidential. Snowden fled to Hong Kong before blowing the whistle. His current whereabouts are unknown, but he is not thought to have left the Asian territory. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a490648/prism-data-thwarted-terrorist-plots-in-20-countries/>