Tech groups tell surveillance review panel to focus on oversight, transparency

The Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology, the group convened by President Barack Obama to review the government’s surveillance programs, should examine transparency and oversight measures, two technology industry associations told the review group.

In a letter, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) and the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) suggested topics for the group to examine, including the ability for tech companies to disclose more information about the surveillance requests they receive and the resources available to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. ITIC represents tech companies including Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Symantec, while SIIA represents Google, Intuit and Oracle. Companies should be able to tell their users how many and what kinds of surveillance requests they receive from the US government and how many accounts are affected by those requests, the letter states.