Apple, Google, and Facebook CEOS Sign Open Letter for Reset The Net Campaign

Reset the Net

The CEOs of Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook (among others) added their names to an open letter to the US Senate as part of the Reset The Net campaign. The letter urges better protections for U.S. consumers than those provided under the House version of the USA Freedom Act.

In the letter, two specific features in the bill are specifically called out: collection of metadata, and transparency about government requests. From the open letter:

Unfortunately, the version that just passed the House of Representatives could permit bulk collection of Internet “metadata” (e.g. who you email and who emails you), something that the Administration and Congress said they intended to end. Moreover, while the House bill permits some transparency, it is critical to our customers that the bill allow companies to provide even greater detail about the number and type of government requests they receive for customer information.

In addition to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Larry Page, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg, other CEOs who signed the letter include Tim Armstrong (AOL), Drew Houston (Dropbox), Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn), Dick Costolo (Twitter), and Marissa Mayer (Yahoo!).