Democrat Wyden NSA surveillance hurting US economy, damages companies’ reputations

The disclosures about the National Security Agency’s unchecked phone and Internet surveillance programs are hurting the U.S. economy, warned Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden on Wednesday.

Wyden’s remarks kicked off a day of discussion with journalists, law and policy experts, and technologists at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. over the impact of the NSA’s phone and Internet surveillance programs.

Republicans Michigan Rep. Justin Amash and Wisconsin Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner also delivered their own remarks in separate keynote addresses later in the day.

Wyden, calling the programs “constitutionally flawed” and “overly intrusive,” told audience members that the programs’ flaws “go beyond the intrusions on the individual privacy of our people.”

“American companies that are believed to have been the subject of government surveillance orders are taking a major hit internationally and here at home,” said Wyden.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/09/d...-damages-companies-reputations/#ixzz2hJfwBFUa