Now, the Senate has the opportunity to send a strong message of change to the world.
— from a joint letter from Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and other tech companies encouraging the Senate to pass the USA Freedom Act. The bill, which is scheduled to be considered by the Senate tonight, would end the NSA s bulk collection of phone records in the United States. It would also allow tech companies to be more transparent about the data they re handing over to the government.
Hillicon Valley points out that passage of the bill, written by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, would be a big win for the tech industry, which has failed to get this Congress to vote for things such as immigration and patent reform.
The tech industry is pushing for change as it tries to regain and retain users trust in this post-Edward Snowden world. Besides saying it cares about the effects of government surveillance on privacy, freedom of expression and innovation, it also points to spying s effects on its bottom line.
Several companies, including members of the Consumer Electronics Association, have lost contracts worth tens of millions of dollars as a result of U.S. government overreach, writes Gary Shapiro, CEO of CEA. Shapiro cited Verizon s lost contract with the German government as an example. Other members of CEA include Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Photo: Bay Area News Group archives
