Skip to main content

Microsoft and Google to sue government over transparency.

Negotiations between big tech companies and the government to disclose their cooperation have broken down. Things may change today.
In a blog entry by Microsoft General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs Brad Smith, the company explained how negotiations with the government over permission "…to publish sufficient data relating to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders" have faltered. Both Microsoft and Google will proceed with litigation to seek permission from the FISA court.
Ever since the public disclosure of the NSA's surveillance programs by former contractor Edward Snowden, Microsoft, Google and many other companies have called on the government to allow them to disclose the extent of their cooperation so that customers and foreign governments can make informed decisions about the trustworthiness of the companies' services.
microsoft vs google
Smith says in the blog that both Microsoft and Google filed suit in June for permission to disclose the information, and they believe they have the clear constitutional right to do so. On 6 occasions the government has asked for extensions from the court before replying to the suit.
According to this order from the FISA court, 5PM today (presumably eastern time, as that is the time of the court's seat) is the current deadline for the current extension. Smith says that Microsoft and Google won't agree to any more extensions.
In part because of the secrecy under which it operates, the court has a reputation as a rubber stamp for government requests, although both the court and government dispute this characterization. Finding for Microsoft and Google, not giving the government the benefit of any doubt, could be a way for the court to assert its independence in a public way.
Today may also be a good day for the government to cave on the Microsoft/Google petition. It's standard procedure, when you want to bury news, to release it on a Friday. Releasing it on the Friday before Labor Day buries it that much deeper.
If you liked this article, subscribe to the feed by clicking the image below to keep informed about new contents of the blog:
windows_xp
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Windows Media Player 12 Themes for Windows 7

Bored of your default Windows Media Player Skins?. Grab some fresh and new Windows Media Player 12 themes for Windows 7 ! Windows Media Player 12 Codecs Windows Media Player 12 comes with support for DivX and MP4, but it still lacks supports for many other video formats. (amr | mpc | ofr | divx | mka | ape | flac | evo | flv | m4b | mkv | ogg | ogv | ogm | rmvb | xvid)ù A popular codec pack can be downloaded here and here . Windows Media Player 12 Skins The following skin packages includes some really awesome themes for your Windows Media Player: Alienware Theme Batman Theme Catwoman Theme Darkstar Theme Half-Life Theme Halo 2 Theme The Last Samurai Theme Stalker Theme XBOX Theme XSN Sports Them Download Windows Media Player Themes Pack 1 (70 Skins) Download Windows Media Player Themes Pack 2 (12 Skins) New Year Theme 2010 for Windows 7 This theme can be downloaded for free from uploaded.to Custom Search If you liked this article, subscribe t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of two or more keys that, when pressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort as you work with Windows and other programs.  Most programs also provide accelerator keys that can make it easier to work with menus and other commands. Check the menus of programs for accelerator keys.  If a letter is underlined in a menu, that usually means that pressing the Alt key in combination with the underlined key will have the same effect as clicking that menu item. Pressing the Alt key in some programs, such as Paint and WordPad, shows commands that are labeled with additional keys that you can press to use them. Dialog box keyboard shortcuts. The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for use in dialog boxes. Press this key To do this: Ctrl+Tab Move forward through tabs...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to change the size of the touch and on-screen keyboard in Windows 10

Windows 10 PCs come with two keyboard apps, one is the OnScreen Keyboard , and the other is the Touch Keyboard . Basically, you don't need a touch screen to use the on-screen keyboard. It displays a virtual keyboard on the screen and you can use the mouse to select and press the keys. Although the on-screen keyboard app is very useful when we don't have a physical keyboard, its size is always a problem for users. You can move or enlarge the virtual keyboard from the icons in the upper right corner. If you want, you can also easily resize it. Changing the size of the on-screen keyboard is very easy. Type On-Screen Keyboard in your Windows search and run the desktop app, or you can also go via Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard> Turn on the On-screen keyboard.   To change the size of the on-screen keyboard, move the cursor to the corner and drag it to the desired size. Resizing the touch keyboard is as simple as doing it! Just drag it and resize it us...
Post a Comment
Read more