STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
NPR's business news starts with a call for surveillance reform.
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INSKEEP: Eight tech giants, including Google, Apple and Facebook, have written an open letter to the president and Congress. It might as well have been an open letter. You presume that the administration might've found out about it anyway. An open letter, warning that current government surveillance practices are undermining freedom. The companies also called for the urgent reform of surveillance practices. This follows leaks showing the tech firms were part of widespread NSA surveillance programs of e-mail and phone records. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.