<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<br>
<div class="moz-forward-container"><br>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
Hi All<br>
<br>
There was some demand on the bestbits list that we still need to
ask a lot of questions from the involved companies in terms of the
recent PRISM plus disclosures. We are being too soft on them. I
refuse to believe that everything they did was forced upon on
them. Apart from the fact that there are <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-s-agencies-said-to-swap-data-with-thousands-of-firms.html">news
reports</a> that US based tech companies regularly share data
with US gov for different kinds of favours in return, or even
simply motivated by nationalistic feeling, we should not forget
that many of these companies have strong political agenda which
are closely associated with that of the US gov. You must all
know about '<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ideas">Google Ideas</a>',
its revolving doors with US gov's security apparatus, and its own
aggressive <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34535.htm">regime
change ideas</a>. Facebook also is known to 'like' some things,
say in MENA region, and not other things in the same region.....<br>
<br>
<font face="Verdana">Firstly, one would want to know </font>whether
the obligations to share data with US government extended only to
such data that is actually located in, or flows, through, the US.
Or, does it extend to all data within the legal control/ ownership
of these companies wherever it may reside. (I think, certainly
hope, it must be the former, but still I want to be absolutely
sure, and hear directly from these companies.)<br>
<br>
Now, if the obligation was to share only such data that actually
resided in servers inside the US, why did these companies, in face
of what was obviously very broad and intrusive demands for sharing
data about non US citizens, not simply locate much of such data
outside the US. For instance, it could pick up the top 10
countries, the data of whose citizens was repeatedly sought by US
authorities, and shift all their data to servers in other
countries that made no such demand? Now, we know that many of the
involved companies have set up near fictitious companies
headquartered in strange places for the purpose of tax avoidance/
evasion. Why could they not do for the sake of protecting human
rights, well, lets only say, the trust, of non US citizens/
consumers, what they so very efficiently did for enhancing their
bottom-lines? <br>
<br>
Are there any such plan even now? While I can understand that
there can be some laws to force a company to hold the data of
citizens of a country within its border, there isnt any law which
can force these companies to hold foreign data within a country's
borders... Or would any such act perceived to be too unfriendly an
act by the US gov?<br>
<br>
<br>
I am sure others may have other questions to ask these
companies.....<br>
<br>
parminder <br>
<br>
</div>
<br>
</body>
</html>