Broad Coalition of Companies and Nonprofits Support USA FREEDOM Act

November 21, 2013

We the undersigned civil society groups, trade associations, companies and investors are supporters of the free and open Internet. We are writing to urge that intelligence surveillance practices be reformed by limiting the scope of surveillance and by substantially enhancing the privacy protections, oversight, and accountability mechanisms that govern that surveillance.

Recent disclosures regarding intelligence surveillance activity raise important concerns about the privacy and security of communications. This surveillance has already eroded trust that is essential to the free flow of information and to the exercise of human rights and civil liberties both in the United States and around the world.

To rebuild trust, we urge that the U.S. government act expeditiously to:

• allow companies to be much more transparent about the number and type of surveillance demands they receive;
• be much more transparent itself about the surveillance demands it makes, the surveillance activities in which it engages, and the legal bases for both;
• focus intelligence collection on terrorists, spies and other agents of foreign powers, rather than on everyone else; and
• ensure that its surveillance practices honor both Constitutional and human rights.

Toward this end, we welcome introduction in the House and Senate of the USA FREEDOM Act legislation which promotes these goals. We oppose legislation that codifies sweeping bulk collection activities. We look forward to working with you on the USA FREEDOM Act and other legislation designed to protect the privacy of Internet users while permitting appropriately targeted intelligence surveillance necessary to protect against terrorism.

Sincerely,

Nonprofit Organizations

Access

Advocacy for Principled Action in Government

AIDS Policy Project

American Association of Law Libraries

American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression

American Library Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Arab American Institute

Association of Research Libraries

Center for Democracy and Technology

Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights

Center for National Security Studies

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Coalition Against Unsolicited E-mail

Competitive Enterprise Institute

The Constitution Project

Consumer Action

Council on American-Islamic Relations

Cyber Privacy Project

Defending Dissent Foundation

Demand Progress

DownsizeDC.org

Electronic Frontier Foundation

First Amendment Coalition

Freedom House

Free Press Action Fund

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Freedom to Read Foundation

FreedomWorks

Foundation for Innovation and Internet Freedom

Global Network Initiative

Government Accountability Project

Human Rights Watch

Liberty Coalition

OpenTheGovernment.org

Open Technology Institute

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

National Coalition Against Censorship

National Security Counselors

Public Knowledge

OpenMedia.org

Personal Democracy Media

Project on Government Oversight

Reporters Without Borders

Republican Liberty Caucus

Rutherford Institute

TechFreedom

Texas Liberty Foundation

Companies and Trade Organizations

Automattic Inc.

CloudFlare

Computer and Communications Industry Assoc.

CREDO Mobile

Data Foundry

DreamHost

Dropbox

DuckDuckGo

Evoca

Golden Frog

Hewlett-Packard Company

Internet Infrastructure Coalition

Meetup

Mozilla

NetChoice

NY Tech Meetup

ServInt

Sonic.net

SpiderOak

Tumblr

Twilio

World Press Freedom Committee

Investors

Domini Social Investments

New Atlantic Ventures