The NSA’s Stellar Winds Project was initiated after 9/11 by President George W. Bush and was expanded significantly under President Barrack Obama. The extent of the program was leaked to the public by NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013, who said, “We are building the greatest weapon for oppression in the history of man.” His leaked documents provided proof that NSA director Keith Alexander had lied to congress when he denied masses of US citizens were being surveilled. He also released classified documents showing the NSA used equipment that was so powerful that a single device could simultaneously monitor 1 billion telephones per second. The UK’s secret Tempora system was also exposed shortly thereafter.
Also, according to Wikipedia,…PRISM began in 2007 in the wake of the passage of the Protect America Act under the Bush Administration.[10][11] The program is operated under the supervision of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court, or FISC) pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).[12] Its existence was leaked six years later by NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who warned that the extent of mass data collection was far greater than the public knew and included what he characterized as “dangerous” and “criminal” activities.[13] The disclosures were published by The Guardian and The Washington Post on June 6, 2013. Subsequent documents have demonstrated a financial arrangement between the NSA’s Special Source Operations (SSO) division and PRISM partners in the millions of dollars.[14]