Microsoft Asks Attorney General To Release Gag Order On NSA Spying

Brad Smith @BradSmi

We do not provide any government with the ability to break the encryption, nor do we provide the government with the encryption keys.

Microsoft is tired of getting pummeled in the press over reports that it hands over emails and Skype conversations to the National Security Agency. Unfortunately, the federal gag order related to the NSA is so strict that companies can’t even talk about the existence of the program. Today, Microsoft issued a strongly worded letter to Attorney General Eric Holder to release the gag order so that that they can dispel rumors.

“I’m writing to ask you to get involved personally in assessing the Constitutional issues raised by Microsoft and other companies that have repeatedly asked to share publicly more complete information about how we handle national security requests for customer information.”