Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
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Posted on 12/09/2013 8:19:22 AM PST by dennisw
Summary: The Reform Government Surveillance group, an alliance between eight major technology firms, aims to persuade the U.S. government to stop undermining the privacy rights of the general public.
Household names including Apple and Google have formally called for changes to U.S. surveillance practices and policy, arguing that current operations undermine the freedom of people.
Eight companies, Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and LinkedIn have formed an alliance called the Reform Government Surveillance group. Although usually fierce competitors, the group have come together in agreement over the U.S. government's spying programs -- brought to light by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden -- and have formally requested "wide-scale changes" to the regime.
See also: Tech giants push surveillance reform: What wasn't said
Snowden's revelations have included alleged wiretapping, the storage of phone call records illegally, fibre-optic cable infiltration used to monitor communication on an international scale, and the use of malware to monitor computer networks by the U.S. agency.
According to the latest document leak, the NSA is gathering close to 5 billion records a day on cellular devices worldwide. The Washington Post says large amounts of domestic data is "incidentally" recorded, which allows the agency to track millions of people worldwide based on how and where mobile devices are used.
On the alliance's website, an open letter to President Obama and Congress signed by the firms acknowledges that governments have "a duty to protect their citizens," but argues that Snowden's information leaks over the practices of the NSA and U.S. government in wholesale spying have highlighted "the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide."
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the revelations show a "real need for greater disclosure and new limits on how governments collect information." Brad Smith, Executive Vice President of Legal & Corporate Affairs at Microsoft said that "surveillance should address specific, suspicious targets under defined legal process rather than bulk collection of Internet communications."
Marissa Meyer, CEO of Yahoo, 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." Google CEO and chairman Larry Page commented that user data security was "critical" for firms, but this has been "undermined by the apparent wholesale collection of data, in secret and without independent oversight, by many governments around the world."
"The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state and away from the rights of the individual -- rights that are enshrined in our Constitution," the letter states. "This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It's time for a change."
That is a laugh in one respect. They all respect privacy on a level equal to the NSA.
Kettle calling the pot black. I don’t trust any of these organizations either. Heck, Google is probably got the goods on the NSA.
These companies gave us up like a two dollar hooker gives it up for a crack rock. Now they’re ‘fighting’ back?
Give me a break.
They’re really only bloviating now (methinks they doth protest too much) because the users of their products DO NOT TRUST THEM. I’d be willing to bet their ‘market share’ however they assess it is off quite a bit.
Nothing but market damage control....
Smoke and mirrors. They let the NSA in with open arms until the pesky peasants found out
Don’t use the internet, don’t use a telephone, don’t send any mail and you’re safe..............
Funny but I think liberals are saying about the same thing.
They are panicked because they are losing contracts and business overseas as well. That is the extent of their moral concern.
A lot of customers must now be former customers...
>> Don’t use the internet, don’t use a telephone, don’t send any mail and you’re safe..............
I’m so paranoid, I don’t even THINK anymore.
Sounds like nothing more than a PR campaign. We all remember Obama’s visits with the heads of most of these companies early in his first term. They got into bed with him, and now we know it. They’re embarrassed that they got exposed, but I’m sure they aren’t going to change their ways.
It's only a figure of speech, honest.
Shouldn't you be at DummiesUnderground then?
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
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I’m responding by telepathy. However recent news reports of new technology state that form will not be secure in the future either.
That didn’t really care until it came out they were complicate
with the NSA and that they themselves had been spied on.
So the people who track my movements across the internet and share my personal information for advertising purposes are now concerned about privacy.
Oh, the irony.
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