The world's leading technology companies have united to demand sweeping changes to US surveillance laws, urging an international ban on bulk collection of data to help preserve the public's “trust in the internet”.
In their most concerted response yet to disclosures by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Twitter and AOL have published an open letter to Barack Obama and Congress on Monday, throwing their weight behind radical reforms already proposed by Washington politicians.
“The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favour of the state and away from the rights of the individual – rights that are enshrined in our constitution,” urges the letter signed by the eight US-based internet giants. “This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It’s time for change.”
Several of the companies claim the revelations have shaken public faith in the internet and blamed spy agencies for the resulting threat to their business interests. “People won’t use technology they don’t trust,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel. “Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it.”
The chief executive of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, said: “Recent revelations about government surveillance activities have shaken the trust of our users, and it is time for the United States government to act to restore the confidence of citizens around the world."
Silicon Valley was initially sceptical of some allegations about NSA practices made by Snowden but as more documentary evidence has emerged in the Guardian and other newspapers detailing the extent of western surveillance capabilities, its eight leading players – collectively valued at $1.4tn – have been stung into action amid fears of commercial damage.
“We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens,” they say in the letter. “But this summer’s revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide.”
A separate list of five “reform principles” signed by the normally fiercely competitive group echoes measures to rein in the NSA contained in bipartisan legislation proposed by the Democratic chair of the Senate judiciary committee, Patrick Leahy, and the Republican author of the Patriot Act, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner.
I think that it is well past time for us to start demanding accountability for what the NSA has been doing, and to stand up for our privacy.
There are not a lot of policies that I find myself as conflicted on as this one, but the more we learn the more I come to realize that we simply cannot excuse the fact that essentially EVERY communication we send out is subject to scrutiny by our government.
Part of me wants to demand greater transparency, though the other, more rational, part of me realizes that is a request that simply cannot be met by those seeking to gather intelligence on potentially dangerous individuals without alerting them to their efforts.
Still we need to do something to put the brakes on this whole thing, or at the very least get the government to narrow their field of surveillance.
I don't know about the rest of you but I simply have too much on my plate to be attempting to overthrow my government.
P.S. In other news the Guardian has voted Edward Snowden "Person of the Year for 2013."
I know, big surprise right?
These companies will do NOTHING for you. They will bluster, thunder their fat bellies, scream a little thru their spittle, hire One contract lawyer to draft a letter to the DCI's office, and that's it. Everything else they say - COMPLETE LIE.
ReplyDeleteI find it entertaining that those companies who track my every last move on the internet are crying about govt surveillance. Like every member of the GOP - spying is great except when other people do it.
ReplyDeleteI know some people don't want to hear this, and will probably get mad, BUT:
ReplyDeleteThis NSA crap is about white privilege. Period. It is mostly white people (particularly white men, like Edward Snowden) who are bitching about this. The polling also backs this up. I don't know of any minorities that are as freaked out about the NSA, as white people are.
It is not a coincidence that a huge majority of paranoid libertarians are WHITE MALES! White people are more libertarian, a lot more paranoid, and more receptive to scary anti-government rhetoric than minorities are. White people are easier to scare. I'm not just making this up. Rachel Maddow used to have a segment on her show about the scare tactics republicans (with help from the media) have used successfully to scare...white people!
Plus, Josh Marshall, at Talking Points Memo, wrote a piece about the NSA mostly being a WHITE ISSUE. Josh Marshall (who is white) said minorities are used to being under surveillance, while white people (like Josh Marshall, Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, and even Gryphen!) are not.
The NSA has been doing mass surveillance for decades. This is nothing new.
Fuck Google, and all the rest of these "technology giants" who are suddenly going after the NSA, now that Barack Obama is president! Where the hell was all this outrage from these "technology giants" when the same thing (but worse) was happening during the Bush administration? They knew it was happening during the Bush administration, but they didn't care. Until now!
For years, bills to reign is the NSA have failed, until now. One nearly passed in the House just months ago. All of a sudden there's "bi-partisan" support to reign in the NSA. Why? Because now republicans are voting for it! Why? Because they hate Barack Obama! This isn't real bi-partisan support. This is nothing but a group of racists who want to neuter the black president (including some stupid blacks in the CBC, who are just giving the racists more fodder!).
When Barack Obama is gone in 2017, the republicans will no longer support reigning in the NSA, and nobody will be talking about it, anymore. The republicans will go back to supporting government surveillance.
From what I've heard REAL reform of the NSA is probably unlikely, anyway. Some of these activists are underestimating powerful senators like Diane Feinstein. Activists got all excited when Diane Feinstein criticized the NSA. However, soon after her criticism of the NSA, Diane Feinstein passed a bill in the Senate Intelligence Committee that would actually strengthen the NSA. The bill passed in the committee by 11-4. Edward Snowden pissed off some very powerful lawmakers, who aren't willing to roll over, and give that narcissistic asshole the attention he craves.
I will not support some closeted-racist uprising, mainly led by wealthy, privileged white men Google, Microsoft, etc.), and libertarians (Edward Snowden, Rand Paul, etc.) to humiliate the black president! Edward Snowden and his ilk, can all go FUCK themselves!
P.S., That bitch Barbara Walters wanted to put Edward Snowden at #1 on her 'Most Fascinating People' list, but the bosses at ABC told her to pick somebody else! HA-HA! Meanwhile, another poll came out recently saying most Americans STILL want Edward Snowden's sorry ass thrown in jail!
How pleasant...at last...
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