U.S. Opposes Tech Firms' Plea To Release Surveillance Requests

The United States filed a court brief opposing the release of details concerning the surveillance requests they hand big tech companies in the U.S. As we reported back in August, Microsoft and Google were trying to reach an agreement with the government about what they could reveal about national security requests for customer data. When tech companies receive those requests, they also come with a gag order, making it illegal for them to tell their customer or anyone else about the request from the government. In a Sept. 30 filing with the court responding to the lawsuit, the Justice Department argued that releasing too much information about its requests would risk revealing its "Sources and methods of intelligence collection, including the Government's ability to conduct surveillance on particular electronic communication service providers or platforms." "Google said in a statement today, 'We're disappointed that the Department of Justice opposed our petition for greater transparency around FISA requests for user information. We also believe more openness in the process is necessary since no one can fully see what the government has presented to the court.'".

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/02/228523718/u-s-opposes-tech-firms-plea-to-release-surveillance-requests?ft=1&f=1006