It’s Not Just About Privacy

[Commentary] It’s easy to get caught up in the simplistic debate that often dominates the surveillance conversation: that this is about balancing national security and individual privacy. But the binary argument over security vs. privacy ignores the other negative impacts of National Security Agency surveillance on our national interests.

The US cloud computing industry -- a fast-growing and American-dominated market -- could lose anywhere from $22 billion to $180 billion in the next few years as companies lose customers abroad and here at home. US tech companies are facing declines in overseas sales due to the backlash, while foreign governments are blaming the NSA for decisions to drop American companies from huge contracts.

Plus, there’s growing evidence that certain NSA surveillance techniques are actually bad for cybersecurity.