Yahoo's price list for spying on its users leaks
Frank Merlott
Bet ya didn't know this: when the Feds want some information from Yahoo,
or most likely any online service provider, they have to pay for it! Yahoo
actually have a price list for services rendered. Want some basic records?
Twenty dollah. Contents of a user's email account? Ooh, that'll set you
back $30 or $40, but Yahoo will love you looong time.
There's even an incentive to buy the details of more than one user -- the
first one only costs $20, but $10 for any extras. Now that's what I call
value-added federal douchebaggery, Yahoo! (That was really an exclamation
at the end of the sentence, if it's not clear from the context.)
Sadly, this is the kind of thing that goes on all over the place but is
never reported because it's so darn secret. As an online service provider,
or ISP, you just hope beyond all else, that such 'law enforcement
compliance guides' never reach the eyes of the users. Unfortunately for
Yahoo, they have: someone leaked the 'spy' booklet and submitted it to
Cryptome, a site which collects sensitive and whistle-blower-esque
documents. Not only does it contain a price list, it also details their
data retention policies. I shan't link it here, but it's very easy to find
if you visit the Cryptome website.
Poor Yahoo though, really. You can guarantee that other big companies
charge law enforcement agencies for the interrogation of their records.
Source:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/08/yahoo-price-list-for-spying-on-its-users-leaks/