In addition to Google and Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter are also calling for clearance from the federal government to publish more details about the secret requests they received to hand over user data under the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa).
"Permitting greater transparency on the aggregate volume and scope of national security requests, including Fisa orders, would help the community understand and debate these important issues," Microsoft said in an email, according to Reuters.
Google has asked the Obama administration for permission to disclose more details about the U.S. government's demands for email and other personal information transmitted online. Google rivals Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. also support the attempt to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to loosen the gag order that limits disclosures about government surveillance authorized by courts to protect national security.
The reports surfaced last week after a government contractor, 29-year-old Edward Snowden, leaked top-secret documents revealing that the NSA has been collecting data from Internet users through major web companies via a program called PRISM. The companies linked to PRISM are Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo Inc., Apple Inc., AOL Inc., Paltalk, Google's YouTube and Microsoft's Skype.
All the companies and services have denied freely giving the U.S. government access to user data, and instead aruged that they only turned over user data under legally binding orders.
Federal law currently prohibits recipients of FISA requests from revealing information about them.
"Google's numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made," David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, wrote to Holder and Mueller, reports Fox News Latino. "Google has nothing to hide."
In its own statement, Microsoft said it also wants to be more forthcoming if the Justice Department would allow it.
"Permitting greater transparency on the aggregate volume and scope of national security requests, including FISA orders, would help the community understand and debate these important issues," the Redmond, Wash. company said.