11 September 2014
Last updated at 20:16 ET
According to court documents, the National Security Agency
(NSA) had demanded that Yahoo comply with new surveillance rules,
something the company said was unconstitutional.
Yahoo failed in a court challenge on the constitutionality of the order.
But the details emerged on Thursday when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of some material about case.
Yahoo's general counsel Ron Bell said publication of the material was "an important win for transparency".
Yahoo said that the government amended a law to demand user information from online services, prompting a court challenge. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed the programme last year.
But the court documents reveal that the battle over surveillance between technology firms and the US government stretched back years before the Snowden revelations.
The new material about the case, first reported by the Washington Post, underscores "how we had to fight every step of the way to challenge the US government's surveillance efforts',' Mr Bell added.
"At one point, the US government threatened the imposition of $250,000 in fines per day if we refused to comply," he said.
About 1,500 pages of previously classified documents were unsealed by a federal court.
Yahoo 'threatened' by US government with $250,00-a-day fine
Yahoo said the US government threatened to fine it $250,000 a day if the search giant failed to hand over user data.
Yahoo failed in a court challenge on the constitutionality of the order.
But the details emerged on Thursday when a federal judge ordered the unsealing of some material about case.
Yahoo's general counsel Ron Bell said publication of the material was "an important win for transparency".
Yahoo said that the government amended a law to demand user information from online services, prompting a court challenge. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed the programme last year.
But the court documents reveal that the battle over surveillance between technology firms and the US government stretched back years before the Snowden revelations.
The new material about the case, first reported by the Washington Post, underscores "how we had to fight every step of the way to challenge the US government's surveillance efforts',' Mr Bell added.
"At one point, the US government threatened the imposition of $250,000 in fines per day if we refused to comply," he said.
About 1,500 pages of previously classified documents were unsealed by a federal court.
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Washington Post 1 U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data 50 mins ago
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Wired News Feds Threatened to Fine Yahoo $250K Daily for Not Complying With PRISM 1 hr ago
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Huffington Post Canada Yahoo Says U.S. Threatened $250,000-A-Day Fine If It Didn't Hand Over User Data 2 hrs ago
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Guardian.co.uk US threatened Yahoo with fine over NSA data refusal 3 hrs ago
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Yahoo! Finance UK and Ireland US threatened Yahoo with huge fine over surveillance 4 hrs ago
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