Research: NSA Spying Cost Billions Of US Tech Companies

The espionage activities of the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed and is still not enough suitable legislation that would possibly cost US tech companies billions of dollars. Thus, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in a new report ( pdf ).

By not sufficient reform of American surveillance policy would reach US tech companies damage, which in turn will cost American jobs and American trade weakened. The ITIF estimated in 2013 that a small decrease in foreign companies that do not use American cloud services in 2016, the US could cost between 21.5 billion and 35 billion dollars. According to the foundation now appears that only the new cloud sector has been hit by the NSA spying, but other sectors underachievement.The damage will probably also unpack much higher than the estimated $ 35 billion.

"In summary, foreign clients avoid US companies," the researchers conclude that describe different economic consequences in their report. They also argue that, since recently the Congress a espionage law modified so that the NSA should not massively collect phone records of US citizens, other controversial digital surveillance activities of US intelligence to be addressed.