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    Nick<br>
    <br>
    While I have some issues, from the perspective of an industry
    association, this is a fabulous enlightened self-interest statement.
    This seems even better than what some civil society reps have put
    out - which is just remarkable. <br>
    <br>
    Thanks for sharing it as I suspect that non-US companies will be
    cashing in getting out of the US orbit of technology dependence,
    especially now that this it is so well known. It remains to be seen
    however how some companies handle their complicity in obeying the
    law but violating the constitution in 'sharing' access given the
    sophistry that that says there is access but not direct access.
    Also, Snowden is on record as saying that it is just not metadata of
    Americans that was collected, or capable of being collected. <br>
    <br>
    Riaz<br>
    <br>
    <br>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2013/06/12 09:12 AM, Nick
      Ashton-Hart wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote
      cite="mid:963EF8A3-8E31-4C1C-BBFD-D1BD6A266E2A@ccianet.org"
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      Dear subscribers,
      <div><br>
      </div>
      <div>As you know, I'm Geneva Representative of CCIA in my day job
        - this press release from us would, I thought, be of interest to
        many of you.<br>
        <div><br>
          <blockquote type="cite">
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">June 11, 2013</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><b><span style="font-family:
                      Arial; "> </span></b></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><b><span style="font-family:
                      Arial; ">CCIA Calls for Disclosure of Government
                      Surveillance,
                      Praises Bill To Declassify Some FISA Court Rulings</span></b></span></span></p>
            <div style=""><span style="font-family: Arial; ">Washington
                – Recent reports regarding NSA access to phone
                call metadata and online communications and data have
                highlighted the continued
                importance of government transparency. The Computer
                & Communications
                Industry Association commends the specific requests of
                both senators and
                companies today that would help.</span></div>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">CCIA shares the grave concerns expressed about the
                    allegations in these disclosures.  The Association
                    supports recently
                    proposed legislation to declassify the legal
                    decisions providing the basis for
                    government surveillance, and joins industry in
                    calling for transparency in the
                    frequency which the government seeks data from U.S.
                    business.</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">Without knowledge about how the law is being
                    interpreted and
                    used, proper debate about practices is impossible. A
                    group of Senators have
                    realized this fact, and </span></span></span><a
                moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.merkley.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=5D5997D9-4BA1-46C3-BA86-D208EC82A31E"><span
                  style=""><span style=""><span
                      style="font-family:Arial">introduced a bill</span></span></span><span
                  style=""><span style=""></span></span></a><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    "> today that
                    would require the Department of Justice to
                    declassify a large number of Foreign
                    Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions. CCIA
                    supports this effort, led by
                    Senators Merkley and Lee and joined by 6 other
                    Senators.</span></span></span></p>
            <div style=""><span style="font-family: Arial; ">CCIA has
                advocated against these sections of FISA for years
                and testified before the Senate in 2007 that we had
                concerns about
                accountability and transparency.</span></div>
            <div style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span
                    style="font-family: Arial; "> </span></span></span></div>
          </blockquote>
          <blockquote type="cite">
            <div style=""><span style="font-family: Arial; ">The
                following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO
                Ed Black:</span></div>
            <div style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span
                    style="font-family: Arial; "> </span></span></span><br
                class="webkit-block-placeholder">
            </div>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">“To make appropriate decisions about security in a
                    free
                    society, the public should be informed about the
                    legal principles governing
                    surveillance in America. Transparency is essential;
                    secret law is antithetical
                    to democracy.”</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">“A top concern to consider is whether a secret
                    executive
                    branch program using secret courts with oversight by
                    lawmakers briefed secretly
                    can provide the adequate checks and balances
                    intended by our founders. What is
                    missing is accountability and public scrutiny as
                    part of the checks and
                    balances. That can only come with more transparency
                    about what our nation is
                    doing so we can discuss as a nation whether it’s
                    worth it.</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">“We join industry in calling on the US government
                    to enable
                    companies to report aggregate national security data
                    requests it receives from
                    the government. Google issued such a request today
                    in a letter to the attorney
                    general and FBI director and Facebook issued a
                    similar request. In addition to
                    important transparency goals, there are serious
                    First Amendment issues with
                    such gag orders.</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">“As the industry that provides Internet services
                    and
                    communications tools, we disagree with the notion
                    that the scope of government
                    surveillance or how frequently these tools are used
                    should be classified.</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">“In this effort to gather security data, the
                    broader picture
                    of the damage to the Internet was lost. Somehow the
                    Internet as a global tool,
                    a trade tool and a trusted communication tool for
                    people around the world was
                    not adequately weighed into the cost benefit
                    analysis.</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">“There are broad costs to our nation’s diplomatic,
                    economic
                    and trade goals if the millions of people around the
                    world using Internet
                    services to communicate are worried about how their
                    information and data is
                    being used by the US government.”</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">About CCIA:</span></span></span></p>
            <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span
                style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: Arial;
                    ">CCIA is a 40 year-old international, nonprofit
                    association
                    of computer and communications and Internet industry
                    firms, representing a
                    broad cross section of the industry. CCIA is
                    dedicated to preserving full, fair
                    and open competition throughout our industry. Our
                    members employ more than
                    600,000 workers and generate annual revenues in
                    excess of $200 billion.</span></span></span></p>
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