(The Hosting News) – The i2Coalition, a group providing an integral voice for the web hosting community on Internet issues, on Monday emphasized its support for the Surveillance Transparency Act of 2013.
The legislation was introduced via the U.S. Congress by U.S. Senator Al Franken.
“The sorely needed provisions outlined in Senator Franken’s bill would equip the American public with the information they need to have an informed, transparent discussion about the merits of domestic surveillance,” explained i2Coalition Public Policy Working Group Chair David Snead via a press release.
Snead continued, “By allowing companies to voluntarily disclose the details of government collection efforts, Sen. Franken’s bill would go a long way towards ensuring that U.S. Internet companies remain an important part of what needs to be a multistakeholder approach to crafting policy around this issue.”
The i2Coalition also noted it looked forward to working with Senator Franken and other congressional leaders.
The move follows the group’s participation in letter to government leaders including President Obama emphasizing that companies should be allowed to release transparency reports related to government data requests. Others signees included the likes of Google, Apple and Microsoft.
The debate on data privacy has escalated since former NSA employee Edward Snowden leaked details of a U.S. government program mining data on phone calls. The government, meanwhile, has maintained that the program guards against terrorism while protecting civil liberties. And while fighting terrorism is important, the situation has brought light to the concern that data collecting could negatively impact innocent citizens, thus delivering a need for more transparency.
i2Coalition Backs Surveillance Transparency Act