The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) was slightly encouraged today to see steps being taken toward transparency, as new reports were ordered by the Director of National Intelligence, but is increasingly worried that the level of commitment to transparency is inadequate.
CCIA was disappointed to see negotiations break down between the government and Google and Microsoft surrounding the companies’ First Amendment right to publish aggregate statistics about surveillance orders they receive. Government overreach in the area of the First Amendment is seriously disturbing.
The government's new report will contain information on the total number of orders issued and the number of targets impacted by those orders. The report will also break out numbers of orders based on the authority used to issue it, including National Security Letters, business records provisions, and section 702 of FISA. While this first step toward transparency by the government is positive, we must note that much of what was announced today was information that the government is already statutorily required to release.
CCIA recently joined with a broad coalition of companies and civil society to ask for exactly that permission, and reiterates that call today. We believe there needs to be sufficient transparency let the public and officials make truly informed judgments about the wisdom of policy decisions in this arena.
The following statement can be attributed to CCIA Public Policy and Regulatory Counsel Ross Schulman:
"We must scrutinize these government attempts at transparency against a backdrop of incomplete and misleading statements in the past. For example it should be noted that the term "targets" as used in the release by the Director of National Intelligence is an ill-defined term of art.
"While any amount of government transparency should be celebrated, there is still room for improvement in the government's approach to communicating the actions of the intelligence community to the public. Transparency is a fundamental ingredient of user and citizen trust. Governments and companies around the world must open up and be public about the use of surveillance tools by governments."
The following statement can be attributed to CCIA CEO Ed Black:
"Now more than ever, there is a need for government to come clean with the American people and the international community. Half measures and court cases are not the transparency neither the tech community nor the public is calling for. These government reports, even in combination with the reporting of aggregate numbers by individual companies, are only a first step toward the transparency that our country needs.
"The public deserves to know the scope of the surveillance that affects them daily. It is paid for with their tax dollars and has the potential to disrupt their lives. Companies also have a First Amendment right to discuss aggregate information about the surveillance their users are subject to, and a duty to protect their constitutional rights and those of their customers."
