Mark Zuckerberg called Barack Obama to ‘express frustration’ over surveillance

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crime | hacking | security

Mark Zuckerberg has phoned the US president to vent his frustrations over alleged internet surveillance.

In a Facebook posting Mark Zuckerberg said the US government should be “the champion for the internet, not a threat.”

Zuckerberg says Facebook spends large amounts of energy making the whole internet safer and more secure.

He explained that the company encrypts communication, encourages users to employ multiple authentication factors and helps other services fix issues it discovers. He goes on to say:

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.

Apparently frustrated at a lack of transparency from the government, Zuckerberg flicked through his list of contacts and found someone whom he thought could help:

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.

A White House official later confirmed that the pair had spoken about recent press reports of alleged US intelligence activities.

Zuckerberg’s comments and conversation with Obama come in the same week that the creator of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, made a call for people to protest against surveillance. Berners-Lee also suggested that the internet requires a ‘Magna Carta‘ bill of rights to ensure that it remains independent and accessible to all.