Google, Facebook, Verizon… Should Tech Companies Safeguard Our Privacy?

Google, Facebook, Verizon, and other companies are fielding inquiries about their role in US intelligence gathering.

If a National Security Agency programme “violates Americans’ constitutional rights of free speech, association, and privacy” (as the American Civil Liberties Union asserts in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday), how should we think about the roles and responsibilities of the companies involved?