A who's who of Silicon Valley tech companies are part of the latest push to limit government snooping, according to a report.
Tech titans including Apple, Facebook, Google and Yahoo have signed an open letter in support of the new USA Freedom Act that would limit rules the NSA uses to justify its collection of data, according to The Verge. The NSA uses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as reason to collect data, but the open letter wants to be able to let people know what kinds of data the government wants and to be able to enact privacy protection.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, was written because the "intelligence community has failed to justify" the expansion of the laws which aren't necessary. The bill, which has bipartisan support, could become a law and the added support of Silicon Valley heavy-hitters will only help the fledgling bill.
"It is time for serious and meaningful reforms so we can restore confidence in our intelligence community," Leahy said in a statement.
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The new bill is a necessary step to curtail the reach of the government into private lives. As many have said, just because a government agency can spy on someone's email or texts, doesn't mean that it should without just cause.
