Businesses and the NSA

University of Central Florida

The Hidden Impact of the National Security Agency on the Business World

Dasha Karpovtsev

ENC 3315

Professor Weaver

21 April 2014

The purpose of this paper is to inform a targeted audience of corporate CEOs including

Virginia Rometty of IBM and Garcia Martore of Gannett, on the implications that their online

business branches are currently facing, specifically due to the NSA’s constant online surveil-

lance. I intend to illustrate the consequences of of profit loss and censorship, as well as provide

viable actions for the CEOs to engage in, ultimately aiding in the establishment of limitations

and guidelines for the NSA.

Dasha Karpovtsev

Corporate CEOs

Karpovtsev 2

ENC 3315

19 April 2014


It seems that after Edward Snowden’s release of classified information in regards to the

National Security Agency’s phone and internet spying, there have been heightened discussions

on the topic of online privacy. One might view their actions as a safety precaution, while others

may see it as both an unethical and unconstitutional approach. Recently the White House has

even pushed Congress to implement changes to the NSA Surveillance Program, because there

was growing potential for power abuse. The predicament seems to intertwine the aspects of per-

sonal rights, safety, and overall censorship when it comes to allowing the NSA to monitor us,

while at the same time alluding to the impact it has on the business world. Yes, even the business

world. Our society may not emphasize on the business consequences of this online surveillance

program, but it is quickly becoming evident on the negative impact it is portraying through quan-

titative and qualitative findings. Due to the NSA’s constant online surveillance, corporations are

now losing profit and struggling with governmental censorship, resulting in the crucial need for

guidelines and limitations. This brings up the question whether the NSA’s work is actually fo-

cused on only safety measures, or suggests an increase of unnecessary censorship and limitless

corporate spying? CEO’s of corporations such as IBM and Gannett need to fathom the implica-

tions that the NSA is creating for their businesses, as well as realize the necessary steps they can

take in order to help ameliorate the current predicament.

Evidently, we begin to ask ourselves on how exactly we let the NSA spying get this bad?

The overall nature of the situation is simply, secrecy. The NSA started off as a surveillance pro-

Karpovtsev 3

gram that the public was not aware of, and was implemented by disclosed congress and court rul-

ings (Toomey, Kaufman). Therefore we can clearly agree that we, as citizens, were not provided

with specific details and understanding to the extent of their work, nor did we ever give consent.

We can of course refer to their work as being the governmental protection stated in under the

constitution, but where are their limitations or even guidelines? I agree with the article, The

Guardian wrote, that stated “The more we learn, the clearer it is that our surveillance laws and

oversight rules are in dramatic need of reform, like the USA Freedom Act, that provide both

transparency and real protections for privacy” (Toomey, Kaufman). Now I’m not saying that we

should try fully eradicate NSA’s surveillance and censorship facets, but they certainly do need to

be regulated. Businesses are facing negative drawbacks from the decrease in European cus-

tomers, as well as the issue of censorship, therefore we need to implement some changes. I stated

in the beginning how the White House has been pushing Congress to alter NSA’s data collection

program regarding phones, and I think that this is a very important step in revolutionizing the

idea of privacy. The Obama administration has stated that the president’s goal was to end gov-

ernment mass collection of American’s phone records, specifically since it was not necessary un-

less there was a warrant or an emergency from the FIA (Nakashima, Ellen). If even the White

house quotes that there is “potential for abuse”, shouldn’t that foreshadow that the NSA maybe

taken advantage of their power? By taking into consideration the actions that Obama has been

trying, it is clear that modifications in our current online privacy for businesses and censorship

need to be reevaluated.

One of the main predicaments of NSA’s constant monitoring that many corporations are

not aware of, is revenue loss. It’s understandable that many businesses may not take into consid-

eration that governmental spying could pose potential threats for them, but they now need to un-

Karpovtsev 4

derstand that it is directly affecting their revenue. “Analysts including Forrester Research predict

billions in losses for U.S. Internet services such as Dropbox and Amazon because of suspicion

from technology consumers, particularly in Europe, in the wake of Snowden’s revelations” (Re-

galado, Antonio). This information was explicated in the MIT Technology Review, and it’s

pretty much foreshadowing the idea that if consumers do not trust the government, then they can-

not trust their services. Foreign consumers are becoming worried that their personal information

will be breached or that their business could potentially be hacked through the use of the NSA’s

online surveillance programs. So what exactly is happening? It seems as if the internet has actu-

ally become the government’s weapon, and it may become too risky for corporations and busi-

nesses to engage with. Some of the implications are already visible, such as consumers are favor-

ing more anonymous apps and even large Internet companies, like Google, are encrypting all

their communications ( Regalado, Antonio). Another example is that American firms such as

Cisco Systems are stating that their Chinese customers are turning away, due to Snowden’s doc-

uments suggesting that the NSA inserts back door in gear, software, and undersea cables in order

to spy (Regaldo, Antonio). Even though American customers are concerned about the NSA, it

seems that both European and Asians customers are much more serious about their decisions in

staying away from American services. It is important to acknowledge this information, because

for example, “When it comes to Europe, many of the American corporations make large rev-

enues over seas, having Apple make 22% of their net income for example, and over 261 million

Facebook users” (Ganesan, Arvind). This means that many corporate companies’s revenues are

based off of European and Asians markets, therefore if the NSA continues their online monitor-

ing, than American corporations will be surely begin to suffer. By analyzing these statistics, it

Karpovtsev 5

becomes clear that this is not just some sort of preconceived idea that “future problems” may

arise, it’s the idea that this is already happening now, and changes need to be implemented.

One of the other main implications concerning online privacy is of course censorship for

businesses. I can fathom the purpose of censorship in specific situations, but I’m not sure I can

concur with the NSA censoring non threatening and government defamatory information off the

internet. In recent years, even Google has explicated an alarming rise in censorship requests from

the government, which begs the question the nature of their actions. In one incident cited in the

report, a U.S. law enforcement agency asked Google to take down a blog that "allegedly de-

famed a law enforcement official in a personal capacity" (Sutter, John). We live in a democratic

society whose constitution allows us the freedom of speech, therefore why was this blog being

censored? It’s censorship like this that creates issues, because we should be able to have the right

to express our thoughts and opinions, thus referring to the issue of online governmental interfer-

ence. Also, in the last half of 2011, U.S. agencies asked Google to remove 6,192 individual

pieces of content from its search results, blog posts or archives of online videos, according to

their reports ( Sutter, John). It really does become worrying as well when you see the amount of

removals the NSA requests according to Google’s transparency report, and makes you think that

their elucidation of “spying for safety” may not actually be accurately portrayed. It is perfectly

understandable that we live in an era where attacks and threats are constantly present, but how is

censoring sources about government workers or the government in general an ethical approach?

You may be wondering now, how exactly does this censorship information correlate to

your business? Simply put, advertising. The reason for providing these statistics and explanations

about censorship, is to emphasize on the lack of freedom we are currently experiencing online

and how it may affect the advertising field. If the NSA is constantly requesting google to take

Karpovtsev 6

down blogs and information that is not “obscene”, then how can they promise not to take down

your advertising and marketing ventures? The online world needs to provide an environment

where your corporation’s ideas and services will flourish, without the constant harassment and

requests from the government. Also, corporations are not aware the the NSA actually uses their

advertisements as a way to track their so called “targets”. What do I exactly mean by this? Ac-

cording to the Business Insider, the NSA is using the tracking data intended for Google’s adver-

tisers to locate its target, and hack that specific computer to access its’ information (Feloni,

Richard). The NSA is using corporate advertisements as a new approach to hack into their cus-

tomer’s computers and take advantage of their spying nature. We once again would allude this

implication to the trust aspect, the idea that our customers are not trusting us anymore, therefore

our business revenues decreasing.

A perfect example of this customer trust implication, was when the Rovio Entertainment

company (software company behind the Angry Birds app) was furious finding out that the NSA

was breaching into their data through the use of advertisements, as well as hacking into their cus-

tomer’s information. Their CEO released a statement saying “Our fans’ trust is the most impor-

tant thing for us and we take privacy extremely seriously, “We do not collaborate, collude, or

share data with spy agencies anywhere in the world” (Ball, James). This company was focused

on illustrating the concept that there was no compliance to the NSA spying on them and their

customers, and they do not wish to have a relationship with the disparate ad platforms. Once

again, there was no warrant for this purpose, the NSA just decided to obtain their information,

thus alluding to the concept of constant governmental interference. This is the type of thinking

that businesses such as IBM and Gannett need to adopt, to understand that their customers come

first, or their “revenue”, and that the NSA should not have the authority to breach such regula-

Karpovtsev 7

tions. Their possible solutions were to re-evaluate working with third party advertising networks,

as well as try to restrict the NSA from breaching into their systems. As you can see, they were

not willing to use third party advertisements currently, which potentially could of been one of

your corporate advertisements on their page. You will begin to realize that everything turns into

a vicious cycle with the NSA’s impact on your business, and the loss of your customer’s trust

will be one of the biggest implications you will have to face in regards to advertising and selling

your products.

So after elucidating on the possible outcomes and implications regarding NSA’s online

surveillance, what is there left for you to do? Join the Reform Government Surveillance! Big-

name Internet such as Apple and Microsoft have launched the Reform Government Surveillance

(RGS) coalition, arguing for heavy restrictions on the NSA’s ability to do all the economy-size

surveillance that’s been revealed over the last seven months” (Auerbach, David). Their official

website goes into details about the government’s authority to collect user’s information, trans-

parency reports, accountability, as well as respecting the free flow of information. Each of these

points are further elaborated on with specific examples on what kind of guidelines and limita-

tions need to be implemented, as well as the necessary steps needed for these changes to occur.

This coalition is establishes the rights that companies deserve to have, as well as providing a an

open letter to the President and members of Congress in Washington, in regards to their request

of limiting the NSA’s powers. I think that this was one of the important actions that they took in

terms of trying to get their message across, because by providing an open letter to these powerful

individuals, there’s a higher chance that amends would be made. The Obama Administration is

already pushing forth radical changes in the NSA’s surveillance program for phone spying,

therefore they surely may take online privacy into considerations as well.

http://reformgovernmentsurveillance.com/

Karpovtsev 8

Ultimately, these are the types of steps that businesses need to be taking in order to im-

plement guidelines and limitations for the NSA, as well as fathom the current implications of

revenues and censorship associated with their online ventures. We need to understand that some-

times the negatives out weight the positives, and that’s what seems to be happening with the

NSA in relation to our American businesses. Just as the White House is trying to push Congress

to set forth limitations on the NSA, companies are already striving to establish changes with the

Reform Government Surveillance coalition, and hopefully, your businesses will too.

Works Cited

Auerbach, David. "Google, Apple, and Other Insanely Powerful Companies Try to Limit Insane

Powers of Government." Slate Magazine. N.p., 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Borger, Julian, James Ball, and Glenn Greenwald. "Revealed: How US and UK Spy Agencies

Defeat Internet Privacy and Security." Guardian Weekly. Guardian News and Media,

06 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.

Feloni, Richard. "The NSA Is Using Google's Advertising Cookies To Track Its Targets."

Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Karpovtsev 9

Ganesan, Arvind. "How the NSA Scandal Hurts the Economy." Global Public Square RSS.

CNN, 15 July 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Nakashima, Ellen. "White House Pushes Congress to Quickly Pass Changes to NSA Surveil-

lance

Program." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar.

2014.

Regalado, Antonio. "Spying Is Bad for Business." MIT Technology Review. N.p., 18 Mar.

2014.

Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Sutter, John D. "Google Reports 'alarming' Rise in Government Censorship Requests." CNN.

Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

Toomey, Patrick, and Brett Max Kaufman. "How Did We Let the NSA Spying Get This Bad?"

Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

Dasha Karpovtsev

ENC 3315

Rough Draft #17 April 2014

The NSA: Keeping Our Country Safe, Or Just a Spying Epidemic?

Karpovtsev 10

It seems that after Edward Snowden’s release of classified information in regards to the

National Security Agency’s phone and internet spying, there has been a dissociation of opinions

on the topic of internet privacy. One might view their actions as a safety precaution, while others

may see it as both an unethical and unconstitutional approach. The predicament seems to inter-

twine the aspects of personal rights, safety, and overall censorship when it comes to allowing the

NSA to monitor us, while at the same time alluding to even the impact it has on the business

world. Recently the White House has pushed Congress to implement changes to the NSA Sur-

veillance Program, because there was growing potential for power abuse. This brings up the

question whether the NSA’s work is actually focused on counterterrorism, or suggests an in-

crease of censorship and lack of personal freedom. I find that the idea that we should constantly

be under surveillance and even censored goes against our constitutional rights, therefore we

should seek both changes and limitations in terms of NSA’s Surveillance Program.

One of the key predicaments concerning internet privacy is of course censorship. I can

fathom the purpose of censorship in specific situations, but I’m not sure I can concur with the

NSA censoring non threatening and government defamatory information off the internet. In re-

cent years, even Google has explicated an alarming rise in censorship requests from the govern-

ment, which begs the question the nature of their actions. In one incident cited in the report, a

U.S. law enforcement agency asked Google to take down a blog that "allegedly defamed a law

enforcement official in a personal capacity" (Sutter, John). I believe that we live in a democratic





Karpovtsev 11







There should be limitations in regards to the censorship aspect, because if the government con-

tinues to censor articles or blogs that criticize their reputation, then surely our First Amendment

right would be violated.

Another facet of the situation that may not be recognized as downside of the NSA’s con-

stant monitoring, are businesses. It’s understandable that many individuals may not take this into

consideration when they allude to governmental spying having no effects on our society, but they

easily miss this important aspect. “Analysts including Forrester Research predict billions in

losses for U.S. Internet services such as Dropbox and Amazon because of suspicion from tech-

nology consumers, particularly in Europe, in the wake of Snowden’s revelations” (Regalado, An-

tonio). This information was explicated in the MIT Technology Review, and it’s pretty much

foreshadowing the idea that if consumers do not trust the government, then they cannot trust their

services. When it comes to Europe, many of the American corporations make large revenues

over seas, having Apple make 22% of their net income for example, and over 261 million Face-

book users (Ganesan, Arvind). So what exactly is happening? It seems as if the internet has actu-

ally become the government’s weapon, and it may become too risky for corporations and busi-

nesses to engage with. Some of the consequences are already visible, such as consumers are fa-

voring more anonymous apps and even large Internet companies, like Google, are encrypting all

Karpovtsev 12

their communications ( Regalado, Antonio). We can clearly see these changes taking place in our

current day society, they’re new tactics in which consumers are trying to create some sort of pri-

vacy without governmental interference. Businesses have even taken radical actions, having the

big-name Internet companies launching the Reform Government Surveillance (RGS) coalition,

arguing for heavy restrictions on the NSA’s ability to do all the economy-size surveillance that’s

been revealed over the last seven months” (Auerbach, David). These are the types of steps our

society needs to be taking in order to set rules for the NSA, and inform people on the current

problem of internet privacy we are facing today. We need to understand that sometimes the nega-

tives out weight the positives, and that’s what seems to be happening here. Just as the White

House is trying to push Congress to set forth limitations on the NSA, companies are also at-

tempting to establish changes with the Reform Government Surveillance coalition.




ings. Therefore we can clearly agree that we, as citizens, were not provided with specific details

and understanding to the extent of their work, nor did we ever give consent. We can of course re-

fer to their work as being the governmental protection stated in under the constitution, but where

are their limitations or even guidelines? I agree with the article, The Guardian wrote, that stated

“The more we learn, the clearer it is that our surveillance laws and oversight rules are in dramatic

need of reform, like the USA Freedom Act, that provide both transparency and real protections

for privacy” (Toomey, Kaufman). Now I’m not saying that we should try fully eradicate NSA’s

surveillance and censorship facets, but they certainly do need to be regulated. As discussed

throughout this paper, businesses are facing negative drawbacks from the decrease in European

Karpovtsev 13

customers, as well as the issue of censorship, therefore we need to implement some changes. I

stated in the beginning how the White House has been pushing Congress to alter NSA’s data col-

lection program regarding phones, and I think that this is a very important step in revolutionizing

the idea of privacy. The Obama administration has stated that the president’s goal was to end

government mass collection of American’s phone records, specifically since it was not necessary

unless there was a warrant or an emergency from the FIA (Nakashima, Ellen). If even the White

house quotes that there is “potential for abuse”, shouldn’t that foreshadow that the NSA maybe

taken advantage of their power? By taking into consideration the actions that Obama has been

trying, it is clear that modifications in our current internet privacy situation need to be reevalu-

ated.

Dasha Karpovtsev

ENC 3315

Rough Draft #214 April 2014


It seems that after Edward Snowden’s release of classified information in regards to the Na-

tional Security Agency’s phone and internet spying, there have been heightened discussions on

the topic of online privacy. One might view their actions as a safety precaution, while others may

see it as both an unethical and unconstitutional approach. Recently the White House has even

Karpovtsev 14

pushed Congress to implement changes to the NSA Surveillance Program, because there was

growing potential for power abuse. The predicament seems to intertwine the aspects of personal

rights, safety, and overall censorship when it comes to allowing the NSA to monitor us, while at

the same time alluding to the impact it has on the business world. Yes, even the business world.

Our society may not emphasize on the business consequences of this online surveillance pro-

gram, but it is quickly becoming evident on the negative impact it is portraying through quantita-

tive and qualitative findings. Due to the NSA’s constant online surveillance, corporations are

now losing profit and struggling with governmental censorship, resulting in the crucial need for

guidelines and limitations. This brings up the question whether the NSA’s work is actually fo-

cused on only safety measures, or suggests an increase of unnecessary censorship and limitless

corporate spying? CEO’s of corporations such as IBM and Gannett need to fathom the implica-

tions that the NSA is creating for their businesses, as well as realize the necessary steps they can

take in order to help ameliorate the current predicament.




ings. Therefore we can clearly agree that we, as citizens, were not provided with specific details

and understanding to the extent of their work, nor did we ever give consent. We can of course re-

fer to their work as being the governmental protection stated in under the constitution, but where

are their limitations or even guidelines? I agree with the article, The Guardian wrote, that stated

“The more we learn, the clearer it is that our surveillance laws and oversight rules are in dramatic

need of reform, like the USA Freedom Act, that provide both transparency and real protections

for privacy” (Toomey, Kaufman). Now I’m not saying that we should try fully eradicate NSA’s

Karpovtsev 15

surveillance and censorship facets, but they certainly do need to be regulated. Businesses are fac-

ing negative drawbacks from the decrease in European customers, as well as the issue of censor-

ship, therefore we need to implement some changes. I stated in the beginning how the White

House has been pushing Congress to alter NSA’s data collection program regarding phones, and

I think that this is a very important step in revolutionizing the idea of privacy. The Obama ad-

ministration has stated that the president’s goal was to end government mass collection of Amer-

ican’s phone records, specifically since it was not necessary unless there was a warrant or an

emergency from the FIA (Nakashima, Ellen). If even the White house quotes that there is “po-

tential for abuse”, shouldn’t that foreshadow that the NSA maybe taken advantage of their

power? By taking into consideration the actions that Obama has been trying, it is clear that modi-

fications in our current online privacy for businesses and censorship need to be reevaluated.

One of the main predicaments of NSA’s constant monitoring that many corporations are not

aware of, is revenue loss. It’s understandable that many businesses may not take into considera-

tion that governmental spying could pose potential threats for them, but they now need to under-

stand that it is directly affecting their revenue. “Analysts including Forrester Research predict

billions in losses for U.S. Internet services such as Dropbox and Amazon because of suspicion

from technology consumers, particularly in Europe, in the wake of Snowden’s revelations” (Re-

galado, Antonio). This information was explicated in the MIT Technology Review, and it’s

pretty much foreshadowing the idea that if consumers do not trust the government, then they can-

not trust their services. So what exactly is happening? It seems as if the internet has actually be-

come the government’s weapon, and it may become too risky for corporations and businesses to

engage with. Foreign consumers are becoming worried that their personal information will be

breached or that their business could potentially be hacked through the use of the NSA’s online

Karpovtsev 16

surveillance programs. Some of the implications are already visible, such as consumers are fa-

voring more anonymous apps and even large Internet companies, like Google, are encrypting all

their communications ( Regalado, Antonio). Another example is that American firms such as

Cisco Systems are stating that their Chinese customers are turning away, due to Snowden’s doc-

uments suggesting that the NSA inserts back door in gear, software, and undersea cables in order

to spy (Regaldo, Antonio). Even though American customers are concerned about the NSA, it

seems that both European and Asians customers are much more serious about their decisions in

staying away from American services. It is important to acknowledge this information, because

for example, “When it comes to Europe, many of the American corporations make large rev-

enues over seas, having Apple make 22% of their net income for example, and over 261 million

Facebook users” (Ganesan, Arvind). This means that many corporate companies’s revenues are

based off of European and Asians markets, therefore if the NSA continues their online monitor-

ing, these corporations will be begin to lose profit. By analyzing these statistics, it becomes clear

that this is not just some sort of preconceived idea that “future problems” may arise, it’s the idea

that this is already happening now, and changes need to be implemented.

One of the other main implications concerning online privacy is of course censorship for

businesses. I can fathom the purpose of censorship in specific situations, but I’m not sure I can

concur with the NSA censoring non threatening and government defamatory information off the

internet. In recent years, even Google has explicated an alarming rise in censorship requests from

the government, which begs the question the nature of their actions. In one incident cited in the

report, a U.S. law enforcement agency asked Google to take down a blog that "allegedly de-

famed a law enforcement official in a personal capacity" (Sutter, John). We live in a democratic


Karpovtsev 17










You may be wondering now, how exactly does this censorship information correlate to your

business? Simply put, advertising. The reason for providing these statistics and explanations

about censorship, is to emphasize on the lack of freedom we are currently experiencing online

and how it may affect the advertising field. If the NSA is constantly requesting google to take

down blogs and information that is not “obscene”, then how can they promise not to take down

your advertising and marketing ventures? The online world needs to provide an environment

where your corporation’s ideas and services will flourish, without the constant harassment and

requests from the government. Also, corporations are not aware the the NSA actually uses their

advertisements as a way to track their so called “targets”. What do I exactly mean by this? Ac-

cording to the Business Insider, the NSA is using the tracking data intended for Google’s adver-

tisers to locate its target, and hack that specific computer to access its’ information (Feloni,

Richard). The NSA is using corporate advertisements as a new approach to hack into their cus-

tomer’s computers and take advantage of their spying nature. We once again would allude this

Karpovtsev 18

implication to the trust aspect, the idea that our customers are not trusting us anymore, therefore

our business revenues decreasing.

What’s interesting, is that recently the Rovio Entertainment company (software company

behind the Angry Birds app) was furious finding out that the NSA was breaching into their data

through the use of advertisements, as well as hacking into their customer’s information. Their

CEO released a statement saying “Our fans’ trust is the most important thing for us and we take

privacy extremely seriously, “We do not collaborate, collude, or share data with spy agencies

anywhere in the world” (Ball, James). This company was focused on illustrating the concept that

there was no compliance to the NSA spying on them and their customers, and they do not wish

to have a relationship with the disparate ad platforms. This is the type of thinking that businesses

need to adopt, to understand that their customers come first, or their “revenue”, and that the NSA

should not have the authority to breach such regulations. Once again, there was no warrant for

this purpose, the NSA just decided to obtain their information, thus alluding to the concept of

constant governmental interference. Their possible solutions were to re-evaluate working with

third party advertising networks, as well as try to restrict the NSA from breaching into their sys-

tems. As you can see, they are not willing to use third party advertisements currently, which po-

tentially could of been one of your corporate advertisements on their page. You will begin to re-

alize that everything turns into a vicious cycle with the NSA’s impact on your business, and the

loss of your customer’s trust will be one of the biggest implications you will have to face in re-

gards to advertising your products or services.

So after elucidating on the possible outcomes and implications regarding NSA’s online sur-

veillance, what is there left for you to do? Big-name Internet such as Apple and Microsoft have

launched the Reform Government Surveillance (RGS) coalition, arguing for heavy restrictions

Karpovtsev 19

on the NSA’s ability to do all the economy-size surveillance that’s been revealed over the last

seven months” (Auerbach, David). Their official website goes into details about the govern-

ment’s authority to collect user’s information, transparency reports, accountability, as well as re-

specting the free flow of information. Each of these points are further elaborated on with specific

examples on what kind of guidelines and limitations need to be implemented, as well as the nec-

essary steps needed for these changes to occur. This coalition is establishes the rights that com-

panies deserve to have, as well as providing a an open letter to the President and members of

Congress in Washington, in regards to their request of limiting the NSA’s powers. I think that

this was one of the important actions that they took in terms of trying to get their message across,

because by providing an open letter to these powerful individuals, there’s a higher chance that

amends would be made. The Obama Administration is already pushing forth radical changes in

the NSA’s surveillance program for phone spying, therefore they surely may take online privacy

into considerations as well. These are the types of steps our society needs to be taking in order to

execute new rules for the NSA, and inform people on the current predicament of internet privacy

on businesses world today. We need to understand that sometimes the negatives out weight the

positives, and that’s what seems to be happening with the NSA in relation to our American busi-

nesses. Just as the White House is trying to push Congress to set forth limitations on the NSA,

companies are also attempting to establish changes with the Reform Government Surveillance

coalition, and hopefully, you will too.

Documents

Businesses and the NSA