Tech Giants’ Effort To Curb NSA Data Collection Thwarted By Senate

The Senate voted down a measure being pushed by Microsoft, Apple, Google and other Silicon Valley giants, that would have curbed the NSA’s ability to gather bulk Internet and phone data. The companies wrote an open letter over the weekend urging the Senate to support the measure, saying “Confidence in the Internet, both in the U.S. and internationally, has been badly damaged over the last year … We urge you to ensure that U.S. surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent, and subject to independent oversight.”