Silicon Valley companies v. NSA opens a credibility gap

[Commentary] Silicon Valley has a problem. The furor over the Obama administration's use of technology to track possible terrorists has cast a spotlight on the private information Valley companies collect. The question is: Is government's disclosure of its use of data for national security more important than companies' disclosure of how they're using even more intensely personal information for profit?

Silicon Valley companies may fade from the NSA debate, which now rages in multiple directions. But Americans' legitimate privacy concerns will not disappear. Bringing sunshine to the information collected online is the best way for companies to maintain consumers' trust. They shouldn't need a law to do it.