Apple, AOL, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo! in a letter said: "Now is the time to move forward on meaningful change to our surveillance programmes."
"Confidence in the Internet, both in the US and internationally, has been badly damaged over the last year. It is time for action," they said in the letter.
"As the Senate takes up this important legislation, we urge you to ensure that US surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent, and subject to independent oversight," they said ahead of the passage of a bill through the US Senate before the end of the year.
The top technology companies said they understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens.
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"But the balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the State and away from the rights of the individual. This undermines the freedoms we all cherish, and it must change," they said.
The coalition said: "Over the last year many of our companies have taken important steps, including further strengthening the security of our services and taking action to increase transparency. But the government needs to do more."
"Unfortunately, the version that just passed the House of Representatives could permit bulk collection of Internet 'metadata' (e. G. Who you email and who emails you), something that the Administration and Congress said they intended to end," it said.
"Moreover, while the House bill permits some transparency, it is critical to our customers that the bill allow companies to provide even greater detail about the number and type of government requests they receive for customer information," they said.