Former intelligence officials and technology industry executives reacted with anger and anxiety over the latest revelations that the National Security Agency is reportedly infiltrating some of the world’s biggest technology companies and making off with the private communications of millions of their customers. And if the reports are accurate, it could be very bad news for U.S. technology companies, who have been complaining for months that their government’s secretive intelligence operations are threatening their business and driving customers towards their foreign competitors.
“I think they’re in an almost impossible situation,” Rep. Adam Schiff, a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, told The Cable. Speaking of Silicon Valley firms who are obligated to cooperate with the NSA, Schiff said recent leak revelations threatened to negatively impact their bottom lines. “It’s definitely going to hurt their business and I think we ought to do everything we can to mitigate that damage. I’m very sympathetic to what they have to confront.”
Source: Shane Harris, Noah Shachtman, John Hudson – Foreign Policy