Tech companies rattled by NSA spying

We know that the NSA has generated negative headlines for its spying programs. But have these headlines damaged business across the nation? The heads of the country’s largest tech firms believe so. They told Pres. Obama all about it during a recent meeting at the White House. The Washington Post reported on the meeting. The consensus from the tech leaders? The NSA program has the potential to further slow the country’s already sluggish economic recovery.

The meeting

According to the Post’s story, tech leaders offered a unified message: The NSA spying revelations have caused many customers to avoid U.S.-branded products. That’s precisely what one executive from Cisco Systems said in the meeting. Other tech leaders — including those from IBM and Verizon — stated that NSA spying headlines have led to angry shareholders.

Limits

According to the Post, the tech companies advised the president that there should be limits on the degree of spying that the government does. Additionally they requested more transparency in how the NSA operates.

Moving forward

Obama did tell the attendees that he understood their concerns, the Post reported. He also said that he’d keep these concerns in mind as he and the White House continue their lengthy review of NSA and how it operates. The president needs to keep this promise. All things considered, tech companies remain some of the strongest businesses in the country. We need to keep them happy if we want the country’s economic recovery to carry on.