According to Politico, the meeting discussed the NSA and other privacy issues including tracking consumers online. This followed a gathering earlier last week attended by the bodies representing companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo: TechAmerica, the Information Technology Industry Council and TechNet.
A White House official told Politico that the talks were a part of the president's ongoing efforts to work out how to best handle the storm surrounding June's PRISM revelations. "This is one of a number of discussions the administration is having with experts and stakeholders in response to the president's directive to have a national dialogue about how to best protect privacy in a digital era, including how to respect privacy while defending our national security," the source said.
The meetings follow an open letter to the president in June, seeking to increase the transparency of government data requests in an effort to limit the PR damage caused by the mysterious and unexplained handing over of data. The signatories included Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo, as well as 17 other tech corporations.
"Just as the United States has long been an innovator when it comes to the internet and products and services that rely upon the internet, so too should it be an innovator when it comes to creating mechanisms to ensure that government is transparent, accountable, and respectful of civil liberties and human rights," the letter said.
Last week, in a bid to curb further alleged privacy violations, firms Lavabit and Silent Circle both discontinued their secure email services following government interference. Lavabit specifically had been linked to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who revealed the extent of PRISM in June.
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