8 top tech firms seek limits on U.S. surveillance

In an open letter to Congress and President Obama published as full-page ads in several major newspapers Monday, the eight prominent tech companies stated: This summer's revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide. The question is whether the combined lobbying strength of some of the biggest and most influential companies in the United States can rein in government spy tactics in a way that public opinion and legislators have failed to do to date. At a new website, ReformGovernmentSurveillance.com, the companies called for the adoption of a series of specific principles and changes, including codifying "sensible limitations" on government's ability to force online companies to turn over user data; stronger checks and balances on the ability of intelligence agencies to demand information, including review by an independent court that hears from critics; allowing companies to disclose "the number and nature of government demands" for user information; and creating an international framework governing requests for user data, cutting across the patchwork of often conflicting national rules. "The security of users' data is critical, which is why we've invested so much in encryption and fight for transparency around government requests for information," Larry Page, chief executive of Google, said in a statement. "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," she said in a statement. Global worriesThere's a grave fear in tech circles that these national movements to cut off foreign online services will lead to the balkanization of the Internet, undermining its promise as an open global platform for communications and commerce - a valid fear. [...] of the motives, here's the good news: the eight deep-pocketed companies speaking out for changes are harder for the government to ignore than the civil liberties groups that were calling for digital surveillance restrictions long before Snowden's leaks began.