Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Google To Routinely Notify Users On Government Request

With the Snowden reports, many are starting to become concerned that the US government could be spying on them. That and the fact that there have been rumors about how tech companies are in cahoots with the NSA certainly did a good job at making everyone paranoid. Tech companies have since denied those claims and have gone to great lengths to ensure transparency.

That being said, the Washington Post reports that tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google will now be updating their policies which will now include routine notification to their users whenever the authorities request secret data from them. This does not mean that these tech companies won’t comply with requests, but it’s so that their users are aware of what’s going on.

Naturally such a move has been criticized by the Justice Department who claims that such a move could tip off criminals. According to the department’s spokesman, Peter Carr, “These risks of endangering life, risking destruction of evidence, or allowing suspects to flee or intimidate witnesses are not merely hypothetical, but unfortunately routine.”

This is another move by tech companies to be more transparent and honest with their customers. Earlier this year Apple announced that they will be more transparent with government requests and it looks like this is another step in the right direction, but what do you guys think? Will you appreciate these notifications, or do you agree that it could compromise investigations?

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Web
Tags: Facebook, Google, Legal, Microsoft