🔍How Amazon Became the CIA's Technology Backbone
Constitutional Law
Civil Rights
National Security
Amazon Web Services provides cloud infrastructure for multiple intelligence agencies through contracts dating to 2013. Former NSA Director Keith Alexander joined AWS board in 2020, creating revolving door between surveillance state and corporate profits.
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Why This Matters
Amazon merged surveillance with shopping:
The company unified commercial data collection with intelligence operations, creating unprecedented surveillance power concentration in one corporate entity
Former spy chiefs cash in on their own programs:
Ex-NSA Director Keith Alexander joined AWS board in 2020, profiting from the same surveillance systems he designed while in government service
Government contracts subsidize commercial surveillance:
Intelligence agency payments help fund Amazon's commercial operations while agencies gain access to corporate data collection capabilities
They buy surveillance data to bypass constitutional limits:
Intelligence agencies purchase information from Amazon rather than collecting directly, avoiding Fourth Amendment restrictions on domestic spying
Corporate interests merge with state power:
Amazon's integration with intelligence agencies creates a corporate state where business profits and surveillance operations become functionally identical
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Detailed Content
1
When did Amazon Web Services first begin providing cloud services to the intelligence community?
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Government
2
Which former NSA director joined Amazon's board of directors in 2020?
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National Security
3
What is the estimated value of the intelligence community's C2E cloud contract awarded to multiple companies including AWS?
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Constitutional Law
4
How did Edward Snowden characterize Keith Alexander's appointment to Amazon's board?
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Civil Rights
5
Which NSA contract did Amazon win that was codenamed "WildandStormy"?
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Government
7
What percentage of all websites does Amazon Web Services host, according to surveillance critics?
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Constitutional Law
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How many intelligence agencies does the C2E contract serve beyond the CIA?
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Government
10
What role did Keith Alexander play during the Abu Ghraib prison scandal?
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National Security
11
What is the primary constitutional concern raised by Amazon's integration with intelligence agencies?
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Constitutional Law
12
According to the NSA CIO, how far along is the agency in moving capabilities to Amazon's cloud?
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National Security