Publications
Partners
Washington - Eight leading US-based technology companies on Monday called on Washington to overhaul its surveillance laws following revelations of online eavesdropping by fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden.
Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, AOL and LinkedIn wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama and the US Congress calling on Washington to lead the way in a worldwide reform of state-sponsored spying.
"We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens, but this summer's revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide," the letter said.
Make reforms
"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.
"This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It's time for a change."
They added: "We urge the US to take the lead and make reforms that ensure that government surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law; proportionate to the risks; transparent and subject to independent oversight."
Newspapers across the world have since June revealed the wide scope of government spying by publishing classified documents leaked by Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contract analyst now on the run in Russia.
The letter ran in full-page ads in several newspapers, including the New York Times.
Community procedures
The group, which include companies that are often fierce rivals, further detailed their security concerns on the website Reform Government Surveillance (http://reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/).
Statements posted on the site show that top company officials fear the public does not trust that tech giants will -- or can -- keep their online activities private.
The tech companies may also fear that increased security concerns will hurt their own ability to track customers for marketing purposes.
President Obama earlier in the year ordered a sweeping review of US intelligence community procedures.Russia has granted Snowden temporary asylum. He is wanted by US authorities for leaking thousands of classified documents.
Over the past six months Snowden's leaks to selected newspapers have shown a massive scale spying by US and other intelligence agencies, often eavesdropping on their own allies.
