Internet giants urge US Senate to limit NSA spying

The CEOs of Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, AOL, Dropbox, Evernote, and LinkedIn sent a letter to the Senate on Monday and called for "meaningful" changes to the US spying programs.
 
“Confidence in the Internet, both in the US and internationally, has been badly damaged over the last year. It is time for action," the letter read.
 
A bill, known as the USA Freedom Act surveillance, was passed by the House of Representatives in May and is going to be passed by the Senate before the end of the year.
 
However, the internet companies said the version “could permit bulk collection of Internet 'metadata'.”
 
"As the Senate takes up this important legislation, we urge you to ensure that US surveillance efforts are clearly restricted by law, proportionate to the risks, transparent, and subject to independent oversight."
 
The Freedom Act, primarily sponsored by Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Patrick Leahy, is a group of changes to the way the National Security Agency spies on American citizens.
 
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called for a cloture vote on Tuesday to advance the vote and end the debate. The vote, however, requires a 60-vote majority, which would be the greatest hurdle the bill would face during its passage in Congress.
 
The debate on the US surveillance program accelerated after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed massive spying activities on both American and foreign nationals.