May 11, 2015
Dear
Speaker Boehner and Democratic Leader Pelosi:
We,
the undersigned technology associations and groups, write to express our strong
support for H.R 2048, the USA Freedom Act, as reported by the House Judiciary
Committee on April 30th by a vote of 25 to two.
Public
trust in the technology sector is critical, and that trust has declined
measurably among both U.S. citizens and citizens of our foreign allies since
the revelations regarding the U.S. surveillance programs began 2 years
ago. As a result of increasing concern
about the level of access the U.S. government has to user-generated data held
by technology companies, many domestic and foreign users have turned to foreign
technology providers while, simultaneously, foreign jurisdictions have
implemented reactionary policies that threaten the fabric of the borderless
internet.
The
USA Freedom Act as introduced in the House and Senate on April 28th
offers an effective balance that both protects privacy and provides the
necessary tools for national security, and we congratulate those who
participated in the bipartisan, bicameral effort that produced the legislative
text. Critically, the bill ends the
indiscriminate collection of bulk data, avoids data retention mandates, and
creates a strong transparency framework for both government and private
companies to report national security requests.
Meaningful
surveillance reform is vital to rebuilding the essential element of trust not
only in the technology sector but also in the U.S. government. With 21 days remaining until the sunset of
certain national security authorities, we urge you to swiftly move to consider
and pass the USA Freedom Act without harmful amendments.
BSA |
The Software Alliance
Computer & Communications Industry Association
Information Technology Industry Council
Internet Association
Reform Government Surveillance
Software &
Information Industry Association
TechNet
