With more and more tech firms resorting to better transparency with their users, the recent gag order placed by the US government has made things turn sour. They report that such orders prohibit them from telling users that security agencies are actually pawing through their data. In the court documents dated last Friday, four companies, Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft have reported their displeasure on imposition of such gag orders. They were reported saying that these orders called NSL’s (National Security Letters) are a “prohibition on speech [that] violates the First Amendment.”
The companies in the report filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in April this year stated that, “The government has sought to participate in public debate over its use of the NSL statute.It should not be permitted to gag those best suited to offer an informed viewpoint in that debate; the parties that have received NSLs.”
Secret requests from the National Security Agency to telecommunication providers for information on the name, location, and length of service are done through NSL’s for required national security investigations. This doesn’t need the approval of courts and the existence of such requests are not to be disclosed by the service providers.
After whistle-blower Edward Snowden alleged “direct access” to documents on requests of NSA, the companies have resorted to get legal permission for greater transparency about government investigations on user data. Though the companies in the report stated that they would not disclose information on specific NSL’s , they wold rather give “more detailed aggregate statistics about the volume, scope, and type of NSLs that the government uses to demand information about their users.”
The companies in their argument clearly gave their resentment of exposing such secretive user data to the security agent requests without prior knowledge to the user himself.”The government attempts to sidestep the serious First Amendment issues raised in this case by arguing that there is no First Amendment right to disclose information gained from participation in a secret government investigation,” the companies said. “That is incorrect.”
With a number of tech firms working towards lager extent of transparency with their users such initiatives will be lauded much by the public. Like for instance Apple, earlier this month released guidelines on what user information law enforcement can and can’t request from the company.