Apple’s Tim Cook, tech executives meet with Barack Obama to talk surveillance

[onehandle]

Source: Politico

President Barack Obama hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, Google computer scientist Vint Cerf and other tech executives and civil liberties leaders on Thursday for a closed-door meeting about government surveillance, sources tell POLITICO.

The session, which Obama attended himself, followed a similar gathering earlier this week between top administration officials, tech-industry lobbyists and leading privacy hawks, the sources said. Those earlier, off-the-record discussions centered on the controversy surrounding the NSA as well as commercial privacy issues such as online tracking of consumers.

The White House has declined to provide any details about its new outreach since the beginning of the week. A spokesman didn’t comment Thursday about the high-level meeting with the president — and the companies and groups invited also kept quiet when contacted by POLITICO.

Obama has promised more public debate about the country’s counterterrorism policies and privacy safeguards amid a deluge of criticism about the NSA’s controversial surveillance programs. As the steady stream of revelations continues, however, the White House has chosen to meet quietly with tech executives and consumer groups behind closed doors.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/08/tim-cook-barack-obama-technology-95362.html

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I'll bet they gave him an earful. Apple was last to be forced into PRISM, years after other tech companies joined, according to the PRISM documents. Steve Jobs held them off until his last days.

[DontTreadOnMe]

1. "You bet"... so your OP is not based on any facts....

OK. How much are you betting?

[onehandle]

2. All of the major tech companies have been begging for transparency about the program.

That's likely the reason for the meeting.

[DontTreadOnMe]

4. "Begging".. again... more supposition

were they on their hand and knees "begging"

[onehandle]

7. Apple, Google, Microsoft and others demand transparency post-PRISM

I'm not your search engine. Goodbye.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/cyberwarfare/22503/apple-google-microsoft-and-more-demand-transparency-post-prism
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/17/apple-facebook-google-linkedin-microsoft-and-more-ask-president-obama-for-more-prism-transparency/
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2283517/apple-yahoo-google-microsoft-and-facebook-want-prism-transparency
http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2283504/prism-microsoft-apple-google-write-to-obama-and-nsa-demanding-data-transparency
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/facebook-apple-nsa-transparency_n_3617251.html

[bitchkitty]

9. The poster furnished an

excerpt of the article and a link. You focus on his saying "I'll bet..."

What about the article? The OP is based on the article. Are you saying that Politico is lying? Are you saying that there was no meeting?

You seem to have forgotten that this is a discussion board, and that means you're going to get opinions that might differ from your own. That does not mean that these opinions are lies.

You're welcome.

[DontTreadOnMe]

10. The concept of the article is fine, I am complaining about editorializing the subject

"willing to bet" and "begging"... why add opinion into a factual story.

[former9thward]

12. Why add opinion?

Possibly because it is a discussion board.....

[DontTreadOnMe]

13. Then let's just make up opinions... Tim Cook was BEGGING! You should have seen it!!!

I prefer living in a factual world.

[bitchkitty]

15. He didn't say that.

He said "I'll bet..." which is hardly as if he's trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Maybe you don't know what discussion means?

dis·cus·sion
/disˈkəSHən/
Noun

The action or process of talking about something, typically in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas.
A conversation or debate about a certain topic.

Again, you're welcome.

[DontTreadOnMe]

16. Please PAY ATTENTION, read third post with the word "BEGGING" from OP

It's not really a big deal... why are you just trying to argue with me for the sake of arguing?


re: "All of the major tech companies have been begging for transparency about the program."

I think I see the word!

THERE IS ZERO EVIDENCE THAT THE MAJOR TECH COMPANIES WERE BEGGING FOR ANYTHING.

Want to have a meeting and "begging" are different... do you have a dictionary to explain to us all the difference?

[Civilization2]

3. damage/spin control meeting,. what a dangerous web we weave,..

There will be cost from the lies we were fed on this,..

[PSPS]

5. "for a closed-door meeting about government surveillance"

Gotta love all that "transparency." I guess we'll put this in the dog eared "hope and change" file.

[hughee99]

11. It's because it's not about stopping the surveillance, it's about figuring out

how Apple can make some money on this too.

[blackspade]

6. And still the secrecy and backroom dealing continues.

All of this should be public.
I have as much right to know what is going on in these meetings as 'top administration officials, tech-industry lobbyists and leading privacy hawks.'

[TxGrandpa]

8. Sounds like Cheney and his meeting with oil executives.

"Obama has promised more public debate about the country’s counterterrorism policies and privacy safeguards amid a deluge of criticism about the NSA’s controversial surveillance programs. As the steady stream of revelations continues, however, the White House has chosen to meet quietly with tech executives and consumer groups behind closed doors." ??????

Open and transparent?

[Maedhros]

14. Hey - nothing bad came from Cheney's secret meetings with oil execs.

You can rest easy knowing nothing bad can come from Obama's secret meetings.