14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is one of the tech giants that have been involved in the secret government surveillance programs started in the United States, with documents leaked by whistle-blower Eduard Snowden showing that Redmond has provided intelligence agencies with user account details.
What’s more, new details that reached the web a couple of months ago indicated that US government experts have secretly spied on consumers using technologies attempting to take advantage of weak encryption methods used by tech giants.
Microsoft has not only decided to switch to 2048-bit encryption to secure Internet traffic, but also to join forces with other large companies, including AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter and Yahoo, to call for reforms of government surveillance.
“People won’t use technology they don’t trust. Governments have put this trust at risk, and governments need to help restore it,” Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft, said.
“We of course want to help ensure that we all live in a secure world. We recognize that governments play a vital role in safeguarding safety for all of us. But there needs to be a balance between safety and the personal freedoms of people, especially law-abiding citizens and institutions.”
Smith says that the government should only be provided with access to user details based on federal requests approved by a court and surveillance should only take place as part of legal process.
“In the United States, government access to personal data should respect the individual freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. These Constitutional protections travel with American citizens as they interact with the U.S. Government, including outside our borders,” Smith pointed out.
Microsoft has also called for greater transparency, asking the US government for permission to share more details on the requests it received for private user details.