Admin Comment: Are they serious and want to protect their customer’s privacy from Government Surveillance or are they in bed with Government Surveilers and just trying to cover their rears?
Article:
By EDWARD WYATT and CLAIRE CAIN MILLER - Published: December 9, 2013
On Monday the companies, led by Google and Microsoft, presented a plan to regulate online spying and urged the United States to lead a worldwide effort to restrict it. They accompanied it with an open letter, in the form of full-page ads in national newspapers, including The New York Times, and a website detailing their concerns.
It is the broadest and strongest effort by the companies, often archrivals, to speak with one voice to pressure the government. The tech industry, whose billionaire founders and executives are highly sought as political donors, forms a powerful interest group that is increasingly flexing its muscle in Washington.
“It’s now in their business and economic interest to protect their users’ privacy and to aggressively push for changes,” said Trevor Timm, an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “The N.S.A. mass-surveillance programs exist for a simple reason: cooperation with the tech and telecom companies. If the tech companies no longer want to cooperate, they have a lot of leverage to force significant reform.”
The political push by the technology companies opens a third front in their battle against government surveillance, which has escalated with recent revelations about government spying without the companies’ knowledge. The companies have also been making technical changes to try to thwart spying and have been waging a public-relations campaign to convince users that they are protecting their privacy.
“People won’t use technology they don’t trust,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said in a statement. “Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it.”
Read the rest of the article here
TAGS: Google, Microsoft, regulate, online, spying, United States, worldwide, open letter, The New York Times, tech industry, political donors, powerful, interest group, flexing its muscle, Washington, business, economic, privacy, Trevor Timm, Electronic Frontier Foundation, NSA, mass-surveillance, tech, telecom, companies, technology companies, government surveillance, government spying, without the companies’ knowledge, technology, trust, Brad Smith
