After former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden leaked more top secret documents related to the PRISM program which revealed that Microsoft was willingly providing access to the agency to its Skype, Outlook and other services data, the company is facing a tough time from the press. However, sadly the federal gag order associated with the NSA is so stern that it does not even allow the companies to speak about the existence of the surveillance program. Therefore, on Tuesday, July 16th the leading software developing company literally begged the Attorney General Eric Holder in a letter to issue a release to the gag order so they could bluntly dispel all the rumours.
Following the strong worded letter to the Attorney General, Microsoft’s General Counsel, Brad Smith also categorically denied in a tweet that his company gives NSA special access to customers data. “We do not provide any government with the ability to break the encryption, nor do we provide the government with the encryption keys.”
Below is the full letter that Microsoft has written to the Attorney General:
“Dear Attorney General Holder:
I’m writing to ask you to get involved personally in assessing the Constitutional issues raised by Microsoft and other companies that have repeatedly asked to share publicly more complete information about how we handle national security requests for customer information. In my opinion, these issues are languishing amidst discussions among multiple parts of the Government, the Constitution itself is suffering, and it will take the personal involvement of you or the President to set things right.
Since the initial leak of NSA documents, Microsoft has engaged constructively with the Department of Justice,the FBI, and other members of the Intelligence Community on the ground rules governing our ability to addressthese issues and the leaked documents publicly. We have appreciated the good faith in which the Government hasdealt with us during this challenging period. But we’re not making adequate progress. When the Department andFBI denied our requests to share more information, we went to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)on June 19 to seek relief. Almost a month later, the Government is still considering its response to our motion.
Last week we requested official permission to publicly explain practices that are the subject of newly-leaked documents that refer to Microsoft and have now been misinterpreted in news stories around the world. Thisrequest was rejected. While we understand that various government agencies are trying to reach a decision onthese issues, this has been the response for weeks. In the meantime, the practical result of this indecision iscontinued refusals to allow us to share more information with the public.
This opposition and these delays are serving poorly the public, the Government itself, and most importantly, the Constitutional principles that we all put first and foremost.
As I know you appreciate, the Constitution guarantees the fundamental freedom to engage in free expressionunless silence is required by a narrowly tailored, compelling Government interest. It’s time to face some obvious facts. Numerous documents are now in the public domain. As a result, there is no longer a compelling Government interest in stopping those of us with knowledge from sharing more information, especially when this information is likely to help allay public concerns.
I feel very fortunate that we have both an Attorney General and a President with such long standing knowledge of and appreciation for our Constitution. Put simply, we need you to step in to ensure that common sense and our Constitutional safeguards prevail.Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Bradford L. Smith”
Source: Techcrunch
Hootsuite Gains Seven Million Users and 300 Employees
Canadian Startup Wantering Launches Dedicated Search Engine for Online Fashion Shopping
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence