Earlier this week, reports emerged that said the NSA posed as Facebook to infect computers with malware. The revelation came from none other than American fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden, who claimed that the security agency had “tricked users computers into thinking that they were accessing real Facebook servers. Once the user had been fooled, the NSA hacked into the user’s computer and extracted data from their hard drive,” according to the LA Times.
I guess that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg felt that the time was right to once again call for increased government transparency, a free internet, and security for all.
in a post this afternoon, Zuckerberg says that he is “confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government.” He doesn’t mention these reports specifically, as the post expresses a general concern about the U.S. government’s impact on a free, open, transparent, and secure internet. He says that trust in the internet is more important than ever.
“The US government should be the champion for the internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they’re doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst,” says Zuckerberg in the post. “I’ve called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform.”
When the whole Edward Snowden NSA surveillance story broke last summer, Facebook was one of the first companies to vehemently deny any involvement. At the time, they also called for more data transparency–specifically involving national security data requests.
“We strongly encourage all governments to be much more transparent about all programs aimed at keeping the public safe. It’s the only way to protect everyone’s civil liberties and create the safe and free society we all want over the long term,” said Zuckerberg.
Image via Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook