When the shadowy arm of U.S. intelligence demanded Yahoo! give it backdoor access to the encrypted communications sent over its network in 2007, the Internet company fought back in The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. But what chance, really, did Yahoo! have against the program known as PRISM in a secret, federal court? “Despite the declassification and release, portions of the documents remain sealed and classified to this day, unknown even to our team,” Ron Bell, General Counsel for Yahoo wrote on a Yahoo blog. “The released documents underscore how we had to fight every step of the way to challenge the U.S. Government’s surveillance efforts. At one point, the U.S. Government threatened the imposition of $250,000 in fines per day if we refused to comply.” The fine just underscores the nature of power. When not observed, it rots and becomes a bully. More…