back to article Big Tech trade association warns Uncle Sam against knee-jerk national security measures that harm industry

The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) has delivered a light slapping to the US administration as it urged lawmakers to think a little harder about policies aimed at improving national security. The trade group – comprising members such as Amazon, Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Oracle – published a blueprint aimed at …

  1. Sparkus

    Unintended 'negative consequences' = don't mess with our revenue streams

    1. teknopaul

      Unintended 'negative consequences' = your not intelligent enough to see the economic and social damge caused by your ranting.

      'National Security' = 'Otherwise Unjustifiable'

  2. Chris G

    Stable door

    "Otherwise moves being made by politicos "could create unintended negative consequences for US competitiveness, technological leadership, and – ironically – national security." ®"

    Too late for the bolt then?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    In other words

    Let us keep offshoring, bringing people in instead of investing locally and let us keep building our crap in China.

    1. Rikki Tikki Bronze badge

      Re: In other words

      Downvoted. The report seems to me to be a response to the orange one's tweets, including the recent one about a certain plane. This was aimed squarely at loyal US allies, not China.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      use Qwant

      I think its more to do with Mitch McConnells amendment, giving William Barr warrant free access to the everyone's internet by simply saying its relevant to an investigation.

      All those data crawls Google captured for itself, and Microsoft built into Bing and Facebook all that FB tracking. Data they thought was *theirs*, all suddenly become accessible to Trump's loyal lacky Barr without so much as a warrant.

      So of course Barr will be taking a look at every GOP internet and emails to ensure they stay loyal. And of course he'll be looking at journalists internet and opponents internet to see what they're saying, and also Trump's crowd too... gotta watch the rivals.

      You might recall the Russians hacked the DNC email servers, well now this Russian puppet can freely let his boys access those same Google servers.

      So, use Qwant for your searches, use your own email servers and Thunderbird for your emails, use maps.here.com to plan your road trips, avoid Facebook like its a Russian financed surveillance operation, and generally don't put your trust in US corporations, now compromised by this law.

      Even if you're a 75 year old white male Christian, you may find your head cracked open, and your emails and Google searches cracked open for anti-fascism tendencies, by Barr.

      Or an Episcopal priest, gassed and internet searched for any 'Deuteronomy' terrorism discussions.

      I claim "Barr takes over after the coup and displaces Trump" on the bingo card. Since he is routing all the crime through his office and through himself. I cannot imagine him answering to Jared.

      1. EnviableOne

        Re: use Qwant

        Its not going to be Jared, it'll be Ivanka.

        and then the love child of cheeto and ice queen

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Mushroom

    cooperation with "like-minded economies"

    Like, for example, China.

    Interesting choice of words. They don't say like-minded liberal democracies.

    Maybe it's because China ain't one.

    1. MiguelC Silver badge
      Flame

      Re: cooperation with "like-minded economies"

      Are the U.S. one?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Mushroom

        Re: cooperation with "like-minded economies"

        > Are the U.S. one?

        Why don't you go take a trip to China and, while there, refer to President Xi as Winnie The Pooh, the Dictator who put his boot on Hong Kong.

        My bet is that we won't get to know what happened next.

        Next time you decide to write something this idiotic, think twice. Or maybe ask your friends for help.

        1. MiguelC Silver badge

          Re: cooperation with "like-minded economies"

          You have given us all a perfect example of whataboutism. Congratulations!

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Mushroom

            Re: cooperation with "like-minded economies"

            > You have given us all a perfect example of whataboutism.

            Whenever one finds themselves in a hole, the first thing one does is: one stops digging.

            Not you, apparently.

            You are the one who created a false equivalency between the US and China in terms of political systems, but I'm the one guilty of whataboutism.

            Do you at least get paid to post this kind of idiocy?

            1. EnviableOne

              Re: cooperation with "like-minded economies"

              Some people have lost the difference between fact and opinion.

              Trump's America may not be as bad as Xi's China, but its still a long way from being Liberal and Democratic

        2. DrBed
          Facepalm

          Re: cooperation with "like-minded economies"

          > Why don't you go take a trip to China and, while there, refer to President Xi as Winnie The Pooh, the Dictator who put his boot on Hong Kong.

          FYI: Hong Kong IS China; officially the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China" (HKSAR).

          What's next? "BAME people are just "immigrants from Africa etc, not US citizens, so we can choke them, run over with Police SUV" ???

          As somebody said about Murrica: "If the USA saw what USA is doing in the USA, USA would invade USA to save USA from the tyranny of USA."

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Facepalm

    Let's be honest

    Do profits figure into this? Of course.

    But it's more about being put in the middle of trade wars and being associated with Trump's America First ideology.

    All of these companies are multinational and international players. From China's operating systems initiative to Europe's cloud initiative they realize that being identified with an isolationist country makes other countries think about isolating you.

    Unfortunately, while the Orange ones trade wars have been bad for the world and bad for the US, the small thumb keeps on tweeting.

  6. AK565

    Nice thoughts, but.....

    I'm afraid there's is a larger, overarching problem. All of this is far, far too complicated for the orange one to understand. You need to work around him. Full stop.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "cooperation with like-minded economies was recommended, with common approaches to technology-related national security risks"

    change 'common' to 'US-defined' and I'd say the US government was ahead of them on this one

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