Ron Wyden, Tech Company Execs To Discuss The Impact Of NSA Surveillance On The Digital Economy

from the come-on-by dept

Tue, Oct 7th 2014 8:58pm — Mike Masnick

We've talked plenty about the near total failure of the NSA and others in the intelligence community to consider the costs associated with their "collect it all" mentality. Much of the intelligence community's views seem based on the idea that the surveillance efforts would always remain totally secret. The NSA, in particular, appears to have never thought it possible that something like the Snowden revelations might happen, and the intelligence community still seems to be scrambling to figure out what to do in response. In the meantime, however, the impact on the internet has been very real and ongoing. Senator Ron Wyden -- who was one of very, very, very few politicians in DC to be talking out (loudly) about this prior to Snowden -- is coming to Silicon Valley tomorrow for what looks to be quite a discussion with some top execs from the tech industry about the "impact of mass surveillance on the digital economy."

With Senator Wyden will be Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith, Facebook General Counsel Colin Stretch, Dropbox General Counsel Ramsey Homsany and Greylocks' John Lilly (former Mozilla CEO). In other words, it's a pretty high level gathering -- and it's open to the public. I'll be there to cover it for Techdirt, but for anyone in Silicon Valley, feel free to register to attend.

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Filed Under: eric schmidt, nsa, ron wyden, surveillance, tech industry

17 Comments

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anti-antidirt (profile), 7 Oct 2014 @ 9:33pm

I don't really see this as accomplishing anything. The revelations that Apple is making encryption default in IOS 8 and with Google conforming it has had encryption on Android for three years probably accomplished more than this talk will do. No EFF?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Oct 2014 @ 9:41pm

In case everyone hasn't figured it out...

Eisenhower brought up the military-industrial threat to our society in 1961. That threat has been further realized by the militarization of our police forces. Eisenhower was right!

Please remember that our government has every reason to keep a "threat" in the limelight. And not because they gave a crap about the USA. They care about how much money they make and how they can get more of our money.

I have no doubt that manufacturing "situations" is just a new field that they will exploit until someone confronts them.

They lied about the threat from Iraq once, why should we believe them again?

Because some crazies are beheading people that maybe should have realized the danger and not been there? I understand the desire to assist, but a westerner in that situation is gas on a fire.

And lets be clear. Your government could care less if you get killed in that area. You just become propaganda for what they want to do anyway. No matter what side you are on!

Doctor's Without Borders? Willing to bet that many are now on the no-fly list and will be forever.

Jeez, I read this and think "where is my tin hat". Then I think over the last years revelations and realize it isn't implausible at all.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Oct 2014 @ 9:50pm

Mouth Wash...
This is nothing more than mouthwash for these guys...

Just rinse, gurgle, and spit it out.

Eric Schmidt and the likes of his executive kind do not actually give a crap. They just care that this is affecting their bottom lines.

The government with the executives & politicians like these little shows because everyone just eats it up... especially the media. History, the one lesson humanity never learns. This play book is old and well read by your leaders... no matter how many tyrants that have come peddling this garbage before we still never learn and so... the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

We can still change this mess by voting in people that care... care enough to put a stop to the endless surveillance and to deconstruct the corruption of the DHS and NSA along with the corrupt to the core politicians in congress which comprises the majority of BOTH parties!

Eric Schmidt would just as soon remove your freedom, privacy, and liberty for his bottom dollar too!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Oct 2014 @ 10:51pm

back in oz
while asio/asis were explaining their lesgislation to monitor all australians when asked about the cost they said they need a half a billion extra in the budget, when asked about the compliance cost for isp's and telcos with the new laws/regs they said it wasn't their job to estimate the cost to the economy or society of these measures.

our goverment being a bunch of right wing nutcases has cut billions of dollars in taxes, causing a 10% drop in the value of the currency, now I expect them to push for mass spying on ordinary peoples downloading habits. how many more schools will need to close.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Oct 2014 @ 11:00pm

Re: Mouth Wash...
You're most likely absolutely right; all they care about is their bottom line and short term profits.
However, that's not entirely a bad thing. The enemy of my enemy and all that.
If you think about them as a raw destructive force, destroying everything for the sake of profit and things that benefit them directly, in this situation we can point them towards the bigger enemy and let them fight it out.
They already have pockets lined throughout the government. Let us benefit from that.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Oct 2014 @ 11:24pm

I don't see the public causing the politicians to rethink this spy culture permissions. They don't have the money nor the time and the only thing that would set them off is some sort of major screw up really pissing them off. Most politicians right now are walking soft before election, careful not to stir up a hornet's nest.

So I sort of believe that it will have to be the corporations worried about their global bottom line that is going to make the difference. I wish it was the public throwing a fit causing major changes but that isn't happening. So I'll take more privacy any way I can get it.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 12:10am

I hope someone asks Ron Wyden what his view is on Apple and Google deploying phone encryption.

I wonder what his view is on the FBI and DOJ's fear-mongering about encryption bring about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Pedophiles, terrorists, kidnappers, and drug dealers.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 2:10am

Senator Google to discuss Google worries with Google exec.

Slow news day.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 2:17am

Re:
Ike's speech is awesome and prophetic, but what it had to do with was our economy becoming dependent on war for its manufacturing base.

Cops were far worse during his time than they are now. Ask any non-white person that lived through that era.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 2:43am

What's the Senator's thoughts on Golden Backdoors?
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 4:35am

Re:
One must include Charlie Chaplin's, The Great Dictator's Speech.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 8:07am

Re:
If this is gonna change something, the result should be a more specific legislative proposal after a more specific topic is discussed. When that is said, Ron Wyden is a good person for most of the Techdirt-interests. It is relevant to pick winners and losers in politics if you want to change something towards your opinions.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 8:14am

Re: Re:
You can probably argue that police militarisation is offering a way to increase the market for the companies in question. Eisenhowers comment seems just as interesting in relation to NSA, though. The interests protected by the government has increased to a point where the difference between US, Russia and Chinas trade political lines are mere questions of which sectors the countries have state interests in.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 Oct 2014 @ 11:41am

Re:
Default encryption is good, but the main political response has been politicians screaming that it will destroy civilization and hand it over to the pedophiles.

With Wyden, there's at least a chance to bring up some of the real issues and to politicize them. If we're really lucky, the big tech companies will start discussing how to coordinate their responses.
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rts, 8 Oct 2014 @ 12:34pm

Re:
He has come out publicly against requiring any company to implement hardware or software backdoors - I believe her repeated himself at the hearing today.
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LewisV (profile), 8 Oct 2014 @ 7:24pm

The impact of NSA surveillance on the digital economy....
All I know, is I stopped buying IT hardware/network products from US based companies after the rise of wikileaks. Snowden only confirmed my decision. I've also replaced my pre-existing US-network devices. Screw the NSA and all of their apologists.
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GEMont (profile), 12 Oct 2014 @ 1:42am

Re: Mouth Wash...
Well you had it right up till you posted this:

"We can still change this mess by voting in people that care."

And of course you actually believe that the assholes in power that are using every trick in the book to screw over the public and rob them blind, will just sit back and let "people that care" take over their positions of power and ruin "this thing of theirs" because the sheep voted for these "people that care" instead!!

How the hell did you think "the people who don't care" got those positions of power?

The American Public voted them into office because they "thought" they were "People That Care".

Unless you're planning to put every candidate through a lie detector 6-8 times before they can run for office, you're just going to get another flock of really good liars convincing you that they really care and then screwing you over once they take office.

Gads. No wonder its so damn easy to fleece the American public, over and over and over and over.....

---
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