As if the National Security Agency (NSA) hasn't angered many world leaders already, six of the U.S.' biggest tech companies are fighting back too.
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, AOL and Facebook are all supporting legislation to limit the NSA's reach, read a letter addressed to two senators and two congressmen. The letter sent to chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), judiciary committee member Sen. Michael S. Lee (R- Utah), Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich) and Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wisc.) praised a lawmaker sponsored bill that aims to end a large collection of phone records of millions of Americans and create a privacy advocate to represent civil liberties interests within the secretive court covering the NSA.
"Our companies have constantly made clear that we only respond to legal demands for customer and user information that are targeted and specific," read the letter. "Allowing companies to be transparent about the number and nature of request will help the public better understand the facts about the government's authority to compel technology companies to disclose user data and how technology companies respond to the targeted legal demands we receive."
Introduced recently by Leahy and Sensenbrenner, The USA Freedom Act includes provisions to increase transparency and allow companies to report more statistical information about the number of demands they receive, and reforms the FISA court.
The tone of industry reaction to the NSA revelations has grown more aggressive since stories first appeared in the Britain's Guardian. Tech companies went from defending their reputations to challenging the government. A sharp turn as the tech industry once had a cozy relationship with Obama through money and votes at historic rates last year, according to reports.
"The NSA has finally done something so egregious that the US Internet industry can do nothing but respond with demands for reform of the law to protect their systems and their users," said New America Foundation representative Kevin Bankston.
