Il CEO di Google Larry Page ed il capo della divisione legale David Drummond hanno ufficialmente inviato una lettera aperta al Governo degli Stati Uniti con la richiesta di poter rendere disponibili le varie richieste di accesso ai server (e quindi ai dati degli utenti) inoltrate negli anni da parte dell’NSA.
Il motivo della lettera è dettato dal fatto che, nel caso in cui venissero rese disponibili (ovvero diffuse) senza permesso, il tutto sarebbe ritenuto illegale e le sanzioni sarebbero molto pesanti. Per questo motivo, con la seguente lettera, Google chiede di poterle rendere disponibile, in modo da togliere qualsiasi dubbio sul coinvolgimento nel tanto citato progetto PRISM. Quale sarà la risposta?
Dear Attorney General Holder and Director Mueller
Google has worked tremendously hard over the past fifteen years to earn our users’ trust. For example, we offer encryption across our services; we have hired some of the best security engineers in the world; and we have consistently pushed back on overly broad government requests for our users’ data.
We have always made clear that we comply with valid legal requests. And last week, the Director of National Intelligence acknowledged that service providers have received Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests.
Assertions in the press that our compliance with these requests gives the U.S. government unfettered access to our users’ data are simply untrue. However, government nondisclosure obligations regarding the number of FISA national security requests that Google receives, as well as the number of accounts covered by those requests, fuel that speculation.
We therefore ask you to help make it possible for Google to publish in our Transparency Report aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures—in terms of both the number we receive and their scope. Google’s numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide.
Google appreciates that you authorized the recent disclosure of general numbers for national security letters. There have been no adverse consequences arising from their publication, and in fact more companies are receiving your approval to do so as a result of Google’s initiative. Transparency here will likewise serve the public interest without harming national security.
We will be making this letter public and await your response.
David Drummond
Chief Legal Officer