Eight of the largest technology companies, dismayed by revelations of US government spying on their customers' data, are trying to repair their reputations. Larry Page, the head of Google, calling for security reform around the world, said: "We call on the US government to lead the way."
Today, eight companies(Apple, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, AOL) led by Google and Microsoft, presented a plan to regulate online spying and called on the United States to limit the actions of the NSA.
“Companies have a business and financial interest in protecting their users’ privacy and should push aggressively for change,” said Trevor Timm, an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “The NSA has mass surveillance programs for one simple reason: its partnership with tech and telecommunications companies. If tech companies no longer want that partnership, they can force significant reforms.”
Very good move, but what we have mentioned several times at iGuRu.gr is that the Secret Services will always be the Secret Services. The question is why all these big tech companies had not reacted before the Snowden revelations?
The reaction came when public trust was shaken and the cost began to become economic. The utopia of reforms to limit the NSA's spying activities will last until the next Snowden. Because the Secret Services will continue to do their job, which includes using legitimate and illegitimate means to achieve their goal.
As we have already seen in the case of Lavabit, the US services blackmailed the company when it did not agree to cooperate with them.
Even if there are reforms, there will always be "work under the table."
