For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. – Jesus Christ
The U.S. Department of Justice denied a request by tech companies Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, and Linkedln to allow them to disclose more information about the frequency with which they are contacted by the U.S. government to give up user data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (More info here)
The DOJ claims that giving these companies the ability to tell the public more about requests from federal organizations like the NSA would pose a risk to national security.
Of course.
So, letting Americans know about its own government spying on them would set us up for real trouble huh? How about the threat to national security posed by the government itself? Shouldn’t the Constitution and transparency be more important? After all, you are four times more likely to be killed by a lightning bolt than by a terror attack.
Patrick Henry understood that government must remain transparent.
“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.”
Transparency or TRUTH should be more important than whatever bogyman is out there and these Tech companies agree.
Google says, “We believe more openness in the process is necessary since no one can fully see what the government has presented to the court.”
Yahoo says, “The United States should lead the world when it comes to transparency, accountability, and respect of civil liberties and human rights.”
Linkedln says, “We believe this interest(national security) must be weighed against transparency and accountability.”
The feds countered by saying, “the public debate about surveillance does not give the companies the First Amendment right to disclose information that the government has determined must remain classified.”
So, it would seem that the US government can do as it pleases. Itcan make the rules as they go. And when they say we don’t need to know something, we must trust them and never question them. This then raises the question: who serves who??
It would seem Ron Paul was right when he said, “Truth is treason in an empire of lies.”
What do we do about it?
I applauded these companies for standing up for the 1st and 4th amendments, but begging for permission from D.C. is NEVER going to yield results. WE THE PEOPLE must push back against the federal leviathan! Local and state governments can stop unconstitutional spying! The TAC has developed model legislation for state and local lawmakers that will do this very thing. Check it out here!
Ask your state rep to introduce the 4th Amendment Protection Act to #NullifyNSA
- Companies Ask For NSA Transparency, DOJ Rejects Them - October 9, 2013
- Would MLK support TAC? - September 3, 2013