Eight of the nation’s tech giants united on Monday in a common call for urgent reforms to government surveillance practices.
In an open letter to President Obama and members of Congress, AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo, write:
Click Here: cheap Cowboys jersey
“People won’t use technology they don’t trust. Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it,” Brad Smith, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Legal and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft, is quoted as saying.
Jesselyn Radack, National Security and Human Rights Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization, highlighted the importance of the document, tweeting on Monday: “It speaks volumes when 8 arch-rival tech giants ban together to limit govt #surveillance.”
In addition to the letter, the Reform Government Surveillance site outlines five reform principles the groups are calling on governments to endorse: limiting governments’ authority to collect users’ information; oversight and accountability; transparency about government demands; respecting the free flow of information; and avoiding conflicts among governments.
In regards to the transparency about government demands principle, Ars Technica points out that
“It speaks volumes when 8 arch-rival tech giants ban together to limit govt #surveillance.”
—Jesselyn Radack, Government Accountability ProjectWhile Apple is listed as a signatory to the open letter, its name does not appear with the others prefacing the five principles.
The document from the tech giants “comes as some of the very signatories to the letter are criticized over their data collection practices, which have led to increasing concerns over privacy,” Al Jazeera America reports:
For some privacy advocates, the companies’ statements represent a good stand, but mark only part of what must be done on an international level to end mass surveillance.
Mike Rispoli of Privacy International welcomed the announcement from the tech giants, writing, “The launch of these industry principles today are a first step to restoring much of the trust in the industry that has been thrown into question since the release of the Snowden documents.” He adds, “It is time for drastic changes to how intelligence is regulated, conducted and overseen, and we welcome these companies’ contribution to this debate.”
Yet more must be done on an international scale, Rispoli continues:
_________________