The lawyers' letter gives BT, Verizon Business, Vodafone Cable, Global Crossing, Level 3, Viatel and Interoute two weeks to answer questions about their policies on compliance with the intelligence-gathering program. They have also been asked about what legal requests they have received, and about any payments for giving intelligence agencies access for tapping internet cables.

If the firms refuse to comply Privacy International says they will be added as respondents to a legal claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which is challenging the Tempora program as a possible violation of the European convention on human rights.

So do you think that people will be able to sue them for privacy breaches?

The real problem is proving that you were hacked.

The journalist would still have to know somehow.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said the majority of "compliance incidents" are "unintentional and do not involve any inappropriate surveillance of Americans."

"The large majority of NSA's so-called 'compliance incidents' are called 'roaming' incidents, in which the NSA is collecting the phone or electronic communications of a non-American outside the United States, and that person then enters the United States," Feinstein said.

"The NSA generally won't know that the person has traveled to the United States. As the laws and rules governing NSA surveillance require different procedures once someone enters the U.S.—generally to require a specific FISA court order—NSA will cite this as a 'compliance incident,' and either cease the surveillance or obtain the required FISA court order."

Mr Snowden has shown just how many people have access (he was only a contractor), Bradley Manning, Team Assange... It'll happen eventually. Or some representative will start asking just what they have on him or her.

No terrorist with half a brain cell communicates electronically, which is partly why the mass invasion of privacy is so galling.