Reps Lofgren, Sensenbrenner urge administration to let tech giants publish surveillance data

Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) urged top Administration officials to let Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and other tech companies publish information on the national security requests they receive for user data.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, the two Judiciary Committee members said the government has prevented tech companies from "taking basic steps to preserve confidence in U.S. Internet services" by barring them from making this data public. They note that foreign governments and consumers have questioned whether U.S. Web companies keep user data confidential in the wake of the revelations over the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance programs.