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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"
type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
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>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
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