Tech Industry Presses Administration for Permission To Disclose Snooping Details

Joined by civil liberties groups

As expected, many of Silicon Valley's leading companies issued an appeal to the White House and Congress on Thursday over secret demands to access user data.

The petition urges President Barack Obama and the leadership of both parties to foster more transparency after disclosures about a widespread surveillance program conducted by the National Security Agency. In the letter, signed by Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others, the companies said Americans "are entitled to have an informed public debate" about what their government is doing. The letter also presses Congress to enact laws forcing the government to provide "comprehensive transparency reporting" as well as "clearly allowing for transparency reporting by companies without requiring companies to first seek permission from the government or the FISA Court."