Tech industry, Obama administration should push for more disclosures in wake of Yahoo victory

Yahoo scored a major victory for transparency Monday. The Silicon Valley tech firm persuaded the secretive U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to declassify legal briefs explaining Yahoo’s effort to protect consumers from government surveillance.

It’s a significant step in the process of educating the American public about the ways the government is using technology to track what we do. The technology industry should rally behind Yahoo’s efforts. Consumers need to understand the ways tech firms are (and are not) trying to protect consumers from unnecessary government intrusion. A culture of openness can help bolster trust.

The government will be allowed to withhold classified material it considers crucial for national security, as it should. Judge Reggie Walton of the surveillance court gave the government until July 29 to complete its review and report back to the court.

The ruling stems from a 2008 case in which Yahoo says it “strenuously objected” to a government data request that the Silicon Valley firm argued violated Yahoo customers’ constitutional protections against searches without a warrant. Yahoo lost the trial and a subsequent appeal.

President Barack Obama should help lead the effort to provide sunshine on the surveillance program. If the government’s efforts are reasonable, as Obama has said, more disclosure can only be beneficial — for the country and for his administration. And in the case of the Yahoo suit, it will be illuminating to all Americans to learn what information Yahoo specifically objected to providing.

Balancing privacy and security is increasingly challenging. Silicon Valley companies can help Americans better understand that balance by being open about their own operations and by leading the discussion about what privacy protections consumers can reasonably expect.