The American Civil Liberties Union says that a proposed alliance between Google and the National Security Agency is a frightening and dangerous combination.

The NSA--a component of the Department of Defense--is an intelligence collection agency with few effective checks against abuse and no public oversight of its activities. In the last decade, the NSA's vast dragnet of suspicionless surveillance has targeted everyday Americans, in violation of the law and the Constitution.

...The specific terms of the proposed deal are very unsettling. Google announced that they're asking the NSA to find "vulnerabilities."

What assurances do we have that a spy organization like the NSA would fix the holes they find and won't instead use them to tap into our personal data? Cybersecurity for the American people should not be handed over to a military spy agency that has a history of secretly exploiting vulnerabilities, not fixing them.

The ACLU makes some very good points.

What is interesting about this proposed alliance is that the two sides are still negotiating the terms. This must indicate that Google has not been happy about terms that the NSA has specified.

The NSA has a long history of spying on US citizens. And Google has more information on US citizens than anyone...

This can't be a good mix.

The ACLU asks that people send a message to Google that strongly opposes a deal with the NSA.

Here is a template for a message to Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.

Please see:

» Tell Google Not to Enter Into an Agreement With the NSA

» Cybersecurity is Not Your Gig, NSA!