Apple, others call for govt. surveillance reform

Eight major technology companies are making an appeal to reform government surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, LinkedIn and AOL have drafted an open letter to President Obama and members of Congress — a short version of the letter appears as a full-page ad in several print publications today. The companies have also created a set of reform principles. A joint website, www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com, has been launched. The site includes the open letter, reform principles, and other details. This effort comes on the heels of new reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) has used a previously-unknown ability to activate computer web cameras without triggering their “on” lights, covertly spying on some users; it’s unclear whether Apple’s FaceTime cameras have been compromised with this technique.