Mark Zuckerberg: Government ‘blew it’ with NSA response

Mark Zuckerberg: Government ‘blew it’ with NSA response: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday that the government “blew it” when it came to initially communicating about its surveillance programs and did not help American Internet firms trying to do business globally.

While speaking at TechCrunch’s Disrupt event in San Francisco, Zuckerberg emphasized that it is his job “and our job to protect everyone who uses Facebook and all the information they share with us.” He said the government response put U.S. tech firms doing business overseas in a tough spot.

 

“It’s our government’s job to protect all of us and also to protect our freedoms and protect our economy … and companies,” he added. “And I think they did a bad job of balancing those things here. … So frankly, I think the government blew it. They blew it on communicating the balance of what they were going for here with this.”

The White House has defended the National Security Agency programs, and President Barack Obama has noted that they include many checks and balances while only seeking targeted information.