Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator for that question. In the New York Times, in March of 2014, Clara Miller writes about some of the costs on U.S. tech companies that are occurring from some of this: Microsoft has lost customers, including the government of Brazil. IBM is spending more than a billion dollars to build data centers overseas to reassure foreign customers that their information is safe from the prying eyes in the United States government. And tech companies abroad, from Europe to South America, say they are gaining customers that are shunning U.S. providers, suspicious because of the revelations by Edward J. Snowden that tied these providers to the National Security Agency's vast surveillance program. The estimates are in the billions of dollars lost to American companies. Even as Washington grapples with the diplomatic and political fallout of Mr. Snowden's leaks, the more urgent issue, companies and analysts say, is economic. Tech executives, including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, raised the issue when they went to the White House...for a meting with President Obama. It is impossible to see now the full economic ramifications of the spying disclosures--in part because most companies are locked in multiyear contracts--but the pieces are beginning to add up as businesses question the trustworthiness of American technology products. The confirmation hearing last week for the new NSA chief, the video appearance of Mr.…”