Privacy group outlines cost of surveillance

Spying at the National Security Agency and elsewhere is hurting U.S. businesses, American foreign policy and security across the Internet, according to new analysis from a group of civil liberties advocates.

The 60-page report released by the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute on Tuesday comes on the same day that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is introducing his new version of a bill to reform the contested spying outfit, and could provide a boost for critics of the agency. 

“Our findings indicate that the NSA’s actions have already begun to, and will continue to, cause significant damage to the interests of the United States and the global Internet community,” the organization wrote in its report.

At the top of the list are tech companies, who have suffered losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars due to people’s loss of trust in their services. They could be further hurt by foreign governments who begin to distrust the current structure of the Internet and call for new laws that data be held in their countries or assert more control online.

Additionally, disclosures that the U.S. had snooped on foreign leaders in Brazil, Germany and other countries have damaged the countries’ international alliances, and the friction could be felt for years.

“The U.S. government is fighting an uphill battle at the moment to regain credibility in international Internet governance debates and to defend its moral high ground as a critic of authoritarian regimes that limit freedom of expression and violate human rights online,” the organization said in its report. “Moreover, the fallout from the NSA’s surveillance activities has spilled over into other areas of U.S. foreign policy and currently threatens bilateral relations with a number of key allies.”  

Finally, NSA operations to find vulnerability online and ensure agents have “backdoors” to peer into people’s communications “have undermined trust in the security of the Internet itself,” the report declared.

The report comes as Leahy is set to introduce his new, more aggressive version of the USA Freedom Act, which tech companies and organizations including the Open Technology Institute have rallied behind.

Kevin Bankston, the organization’s policy director, said in a statement that the new bill “would go a long way toward stemming the costs of the NSA’s spying programs and restoring trust in the American Internet industry, by prohibiting bulk records collection and providing substantially more transparency around the NSA’s surveillance programs.”

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/technology/213638-privacy-group-outlines-cost-of-surveillance#ixzz38uK1NEbd 

You need to be a member of Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community to add comments!

Join Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community

Email me when people reply –

Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives

Latest Activity

Coralie posted a blog post
New Ashtar Command Update!. Come hear all the latest news, prophecies & information for 2026!  For more information, please go to https://www.lightquest-intl.com/schedule-workshops/   
1 hour ago
AlternateEarth posted a blog post
A crumby future world awaits mankind -AI's are great tools for this and that-but... The fourth industrial revolution (AI, robotics, biotech, quantum computing) reaching a crisis stage.On the Thursday show Alex Jones spoke with Rasmussen Pollster…
3 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Desperate Dude; Senator Schumer Misrepresents President Trump’s Warning That Government Officials Publicly Promoting A Military Coup Against America Can Be Executed Under US Law
https://www.infowars.com/posts/hang-traitors-senator-schumer-misrep..."
3 hours ago
rev.joshua skirvin posted a status
If u stop letting politics dictate ur focus,u might finally realize that a new era has begun,& with this comes ur emergence a new experi
5 hours ago
rev.joshua skirvin posted a status
Politics remain what it has always been; a distraction 2 keep the masses away from seeking something more meaningful, finding a higher truth
5 hours ago
rev.joshua skirvin posted a blog post
 Greetings to You! From heart to heart in this moment we speak, I am KejRaj!The world is going through the greatest change in all of human history, yet all people know about is the political theatrics playing out; and constant focus on that, while…
5 hours ago
rev.joshua skirvin posted a status
You have come 2 resurrect the Earth through ur own rise, awakening & evolution.this is a calling 2 awaken the Earth’s 5th dimensional co
13 hours ago
rev.joshua skirvin posted a blog post
 Dearest Ones. We are the Pleiadian Council. We come to share with you Enlightened guidance along your evolutionary journey. Dearest Ones, many of you are now standing along the threshold of remembrance. Rememberance of your connection to the Earth…
13 hours ago
More…