Policy

Tech Companies Rush to Show Transparency Amid Scandal

Don't want to be seen as government servants

|

Trust us, we're from Silicon Valley.

America's largest Internet companies are tripping over themselves to bolster their public image following blockbuster disclosures about their role in the U.S. government's controversial data-gathering program.

Ever since news reports suggested that major tech firms — including Apple, Google, Facebook and Yahoo — provide the National Security Agency (NSA) with unfettered or "direct" access to their servers, the companies have been waging an aggressive campaign to demonstrate that they're not government stooges.

Now, several of the top Silicon Valley firms are engaged in a game of one-upmanship to show that they are the most transparent Internet company on the block.