Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday that he phoned President Obama to urge reforms to the government’s surveillance practices.
“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,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook 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.”
Zuckerberg was responding to the latest leak by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, detailing an NSA program that imitates a Facebook server in order to access a user’s computer files.
Zuckerburg said that he has been disappointed by the government’s surveillance activities.
“The internet works because most people and companies do the same. We work together to create this secure environment and make our shared space even better for the world,” he wrote. “This is why I’ve been so confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we’re protecting you against criminals, not our own government.”
The White House confirmed to Time Magazine that Obama spoke with Zuckerberg.
The Facebook founder has been critical of the NSA before. In November he said the government “really blew it” with its domestic and international surveillance practices.
