NSA spying on Americans raises Silicon Valley questions

[Commentary] Revelations that the National Security Agency has cracked the encryption technology that protects internet users' privacy could lead to a nightmare for Silicon Valley.

Valley firms need to immediately spread sunshine on their role in NSA's work and assure consumers that their legitimate privacy concerns are being addressed by private industry, if not the government. Companies need to specifically inform users how much of the NSA's success was due to the government's investment of billions on code-breaking supercomputers to get around encryption, and how much was because NSA partnered with tech companies who provided back-door access to information. Reports so far are inconclusive. Consumer trust is at stake. If it plunges, so will the strength of Internet commerce. Tech firms need to lead the way in demonstrating that legitimate terrorist threats can be investigated while still protecting Americans' privacy. They also need to be users' No. 1 advocate in preventing unnecessary and illegal intrusions into our most private information, or else consumers will no longer want that information to be online.