After first denying involvement with NSA's secret surveillance program, Facebook joined Google and Microsoft among the internet giants who not only have admitted taking part of the controversial program, but now urge the government to let them reveal the extent of governmental intrusion they allowed.
The social networking giant stepped forward hours after Google publicly asked the Department of Justice that it be allowed to disclose the full scope of secret requests the company receives in order to demonstrate that Google turns over a relatively limited amount of user data.
In an emailed statement, Facebook stated: "We would welcome the opportunity to provide a transparency report that allows us to share with those who use Facebook around the world a complete picture of the government requests we receive, and how we respond," they said.
"We urge the United States government to help make that possible by allowing companies to include information about the size and scope of national security requests we receive."
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple and Verizon are among the American corporations that have found themselves in hot water after disclosures in The Guardian and Washington Post newspapers of their roles in a National Security Agency data collection program called Prism.
In a statement released on his Google+ page, Larry Page, said:
"We're calling for greater transparency--asking the government to let us publish in our Transparency Report aggregate numbers of national security requests, including their scope."
Google co-founder and CEO also made reference to Google's official blog where the company posted the letter to the Department of Justice.
"Google has worked tremendously hard over the past fifteen years to earn our users' trust. For example, we offer encryption across our services; we have hired some of the best security engineers in the world; and we have consistently pushed back on overly broad government requests for our users' data," the letter reads.
