US tech titans dragged further into spy scandal Mr Zuckerberg said the reports were "outrageous" and vowed to fight any blanket requests for information about its users. Facebook is not and has never been part of any program to give the US or any other government direct access to our servers. We have never received a blanket request or court order from any government agency asking for information or metadata in bulk," he said. Both companies said that they responded to individual requests for data about users, as they are sometimes required to under US law, but insisted that they are careful to ensure they do not give out more than they have to. However, evidence has emerged that indicates the technology companies offered the government more help than suggested. According to the New York Times, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Facebook, AOL and Apple all discussed with the US government ways of making it easier to give the NSA access to information. Twitter notably resisted. At least two of the companies, Google and Facebook, reportedly discussed building separate, secure online "rooms" where the government could the retrieve information they requested. The technology companies insist that they have not handed over information unless it was to fulfil a legitimate government request. However, people close to the situation compared the arrangement to setting up a locked mailbox and handing the US government the key. Silicon Valley workers have called on the technology companies and the government to make much clearer just how much access officials had, and what the arrangements were between them. The technology giants will also have a battle on their hands to convince users to continue sharing their data, whether by posting details about themselves on Facebook or by having their Google web searches tracked. If too many people adjust their privacy settings, or even give up their social network accounts, the businesses will find it much harder to target advertising at the right users, limiting their ad revenues. However, the technology companies at the heart of the PRISM scandal are not the only ones facing a reputational issue. Consultancy firm Booz Allen Hamilton has also been thrust to the spotlight after one of its employees came forward as the PRISM whistleblower. Edward Snowden had worked at the firm's Hawaii office for nearly three months. Before that he was at Dell. The company said in a statement that the leaks were "shocking." [They] represent a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter," it said. The association is particularly awkward for Booz's given its longstanding ties with US security forces. James Clapper, the director of national intelligence who attacked the intelligence leaks last week, and is a former Booz executive. Booz's current vice-chairman, Mike McConnell, is also a former director of national intelligence during the George Bush administration.