 "Obama's steps on NSA spying not enough: Zuckerberg")
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg left a meeting with President Barack Obama unsatisfied with administration assurances that the government can protect privacy while continuing surveillance. Zuckerberg and five other internet and technology executives were invited to the White House on Friday to discuss National Security Agency spying following revelations the NSA may have infected millions of computers globally with malware to advance surveillance. "While the US government has taken helpful steps to reform its surveillance practices, these are simply not enough," Facebook said in a statement released after the meeting. "People around the globe deserve to know that their information is secure and Facebook will keep urging the US government to be more transparent about its practices and more protective of civil liberties." Facebook, Google Inc and Apple Inc are among the companies that have been pressing the administration to restrain spying following revelations about the extent of NSA surveillance and data collection by fugitive former contractor Edward Snowden.
The NSA's global sweep also has drawn protest from other nations, including NATO ally Germany. Obama has said his administration already ended some of the surveillance practices disclosed by Snowden and in January promised further restraints while defending spying as a bulwark against terrorism. At the Friday's meeting, Obama told the executives he wants to balance security needs with online privacy, updating them on changes made since his January 17 directive and about a review on so-called big data being conducted by adviser John Podesta, according to a White House statement released after the meeting. Obama told them he's committed to "taking steps that can give people greater confidence that their rights are being protected while preserving important tools that keep us safe," according to the statement. Zuckerberg was joined at the meeting by Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman, and CEOs Reed Hastings of Netflix, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Alex Karp of Palantir Technologies and Aaron Levie of Box, according to the White House.
The NSA's global sweep also has drawn protest from other nations, including NATO ally Germany. Obama has said his administration already ended some of the surveillance practices disclosed by Snowden and in January promised further restraints while defending spying as a bulwark against terrorism. At the Friday's meeting, Obama told the executives he wants to balance security needs with online privacy, updating them on changes made since his January 17 directive and about a review on so-called big data being conducted by adviser John Podesta, according to a White House statement released after the meeting. Obama told them he's committed to "taking steps that can give people greater confidence that their rights are being protected while preserving important tools that keep us safe," according to the statement. Zuckerberg was joined at the meeting by Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman, and CEOs Reed Hastings of Netflix, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Alex Karp of Palantir Technologies and Aaron Levie of Box, according to the White House.