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| Tech CEOs to meet with Obama this afternoon | Tech CEOs to meet with Obama this afternoon |
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| President Obama was scheduled to meet with technology executives at the White House Friday afternoon amid fears that National Security Agency spying is undermining one of the nation’s most vital industries, especially in lucrative overseas markets. | President Obama was scheduled to meet with technology executives at the White House Friday afternoon amid fears that National Security Agency spying is undermining one of the nation’s most vital industries, especially in lucrative overseas markets. |
| The global backlash to revelations about NSA surveillance has become a top concern for high-tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, which are battling allegations that American firms are more vulnerable to U.S. government spying and pay insufficient attention to consumer privacy. | The global backlash to revelations about NSA surveillance has become a top concern for high-tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, which are battling allegations that American firms are more vulnerable to U.S. government spying and pay insufficient attention to consumer privacy. |
| Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was among the six executives slated to meet with Obama on Friday, called the president last week to vent his frustrations after a news report said the NSA had mimicked Facebook pages to trick intelligence targets into downloading malicious software. The story first appeared in the Intercept, a news organization started this year by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald and others. | Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was among the six executives slated to meet with Obama on Friday, called the president last week to vent his frustrations after a news report said the NSA had mimicked Facebook pages to trick intelligence targets into downloading malicious software. The story first appeared in the Intercept, a news organization started this year by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald and others. |
| “When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government,” Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post on March 13, the day after the new report. “The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they’re doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst.” | “When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government,” Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post on March 13, the day after the new report. “The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they’re doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst.” |
| The meeting is one of a series organized by the White House in recent months to discuss NSA and privacy issues with business executives, foreign leaders and privacy advocates. Presidential advisor John Podesta, who is leading an inquiry into Big Data and privacy, was expected to attend the Friday session. He told The Washington Post this week that he has met with more than 200 corporate and government officials -- as well as academic experts and civil liberties advocates -- on these issues in the past few weeks alone. | |
| “We strongly back a free and open internet, and we don’t want to see the internet balkanized,” Podesta said. “But we also have to listen to and provide reassurance to the public that their privacy will be protected and rights won’t be abused. That is what this scoping exercise is all about.” | “We strongly back a free and open internet, and we don’t want to see the internet balkanized,” Podesta said. “But we also have to listen to and provide reassurance to the public that their privacy will be protected and rights won’t be abused. That is what this scoping exercise is all about.” |
| The financial costs of the NSA revelations, though impossible to quantify fully, have been in the many billions of dollars, according to the technology industry, which has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy during years of overall sluggishness. The cloud computing industry, which provides remote computer services to customers worldwide, has been hit particularly hard by backlash to the NSA revelations. | The financial costs of the NSA revelations, though impossible to quantify fully, have been in the many billions of dollars, according to the technology industry, which has been one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy during years of overall sluggishness. The cloud computing industry, which provides remote computer services to customers worldwide, has been hit particularly hard by backlash to the NSA revelations. |
| Because so much of what transpires online is deeply personal, issues of privacy and trust are particularly sensitive. U.S. laws — especially when compared to those from Europe and other parts of the world — provide little protection for consumers against collection of data for commercial purposes, compounding concerns overseas about American companies. | Because so much of what transpires online is deeply personal, issues of privacy and trust are particularly sensitive. U.S. laws — especially when compared to those from Europe and other parts of the world — provide little protection for consumers against collection of data for commercial purposes, compounding concerns overseas about American companies. |
| “U.S. companies are paying an enormous price for the failure of the White House to do anything on the privacy problem,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group based in Washington. | “U.S. companies are paying an enormous price for the failure of the White House to do anything on the privacy problem,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group based in Washington. |
| Obama has been playing defense on the issue of surveillance since June, when The Washington Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper began detailing how the NSA collects information across the world about those who e-mail, video chat, browse the Web, talk on cell phones or use the Internet in almost any other way. Those reports, as well as the one last week in the Intercept, relied on documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. | Obama has been playing defense on the issue of surveillance since June, when The Washington Post and Britain’s Guardian newspaper began detailing how the NSA collects information across the world about those who e-mail, video chat, browse the Web, talk on cell phones or use the Internet in almost any other way. Those reports, as well as the one last week in the Intercept, relied on documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. |
| Anger over these revelations, analysts said, was a key factor in the Obama administration’s announcement last week that it would relinquish the last vestiges of U.S. control over the governance of the Internet, which grew from a Defense Department program that dated to the 1960s. U.S. officials denied there was any connection in the timing of their decision. | Anger over these revelations, analysts said, was a key factor in the Obama administration’s announcement last week that it would relinquish the last vestiges of U.S. control over the governance of the Internet, which grew from a Defense Department program that dated to the 1960s. U.S. officials denied there was any connection in the timing of their decision. |
| Obama has another major political moment coming March 28, the date by which he has promised to “transition” away from the NSA’s program for collecting U.S. phone records in bulk. Obama promised the change in a speech on Jan. 17, but the details on his plan have not yet been revealed. | Obama has another major political moment coming March 28, the date by which he has promised to “transition” away from the NSA’s program for collecting U.S. phone records in bulk. Obama promised the change in a speech on Jan. 17, but the details on his plan have not yet been revealed. |
| The White House confirmed Friday’s meeting, with an official there saying, “The President is meeting with tech CEOs to continue his dialogue with them on the issues of privacy, technology, and intelligence following his January 17 speech.” | The White House confirmed Friday’s meeting, with an official there saying, “The President is meeting with tech CEOs to continue his dialogue with them on the issues of privacy, technology, and intelligence following his January 17 speech.” |
| In addition to Zuckerberg, the meeting was slated to include Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google and the following chief executives: Reed Hastings of Netflix, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Alexander Karp of Palantir, and Aaron Levie of Box. Yahoo’s Marisa Mayer and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella received invitations but were unable to attend because of logistical conflicts, said people familiar with the planning for the White House session. | In addition to Zuckerberg, the meeting was slated to include Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google and the following chief executives: Reed Hastings of Netflix, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Alexander Karp of Palantir, and Aaron Levie of Box. Yahoo’s Marisa Mayer and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella received invitations but were unable to attend because of logistical conflicts, said people familiar with the planning for the White House session. |
| Follow The Post’s new tech blog, The Switch, where technology and policy connect. | Follow The Post’s new tech blog, The Switch, where technology and policy connect. |