New Report Shows Edward Snowden Is Seriously Damaging U.S. Tech Firms
The nonprofit New America Foundation released a new report this week that summarizes the impact of Edward Snowden's NSA revelation on U.S. tech firms.
Within weeks of the first NSA revelation last year, companies like Dropbox and Amazon Web Services reported immediate drops in their sales, the report said. Citing a previous report, it said the NSA's PRISM program could cost cloud-computing companies from $22 billion to $180 billion over the next there years.
"This erosion in trust threatens to do the most immediate damage to the cloud computing industry, which would lose billions of dollars in the next three to five years as a result," it said.
In particular, U.S. tech firms are being severely hit in overseas markets, the report said. Companies such as Cisco, Qualcomm, IBM, Microsoft, and HP have all reported declines in sales in China following the NSA revelations. In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, Cisco said it's expecting roughly a 10% loss in quarterly revenue because of the "Snowden effect." A web-hosting company called Servint reportedly lost more than half of its overseas clients following the revelation.
American firms are also losing the trust of foreign governments because of this. The German government said it would end its contract with Verizon last month, while Brazil picked Swedish firm Saab over Boeing for a deal to replace its fighter jets, according to the report. It said more and more foreign competitors are benefiting from the perceived image of being "NSA-proof" or "safer" than U.S. firms.
As a result, countries like Germany, Brazil, and India are close to enacting a new law that would require companies to use local data centers. For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after refusing to visit the U.S. for months after the NSA disclosures, has called for data localization laws. Brazil and India are proposing IT companies to either set up or keep their data centers within local boundaries, while Greece, Brunei, and Vietnam are following suit with similar measures, the report said.
All of this could slow the growth of the U.S. tech industry by as much as 4% and seriously undermine America's credibility around the world, the report concluded.
- I'm an interior designer. Here are 10 things in your living room you should get rid of.
- A software engineer shares the résumé he's used since college that got him a $500,000 job at Meta — plus offers at TikTok and LinkedIn
- Higher-paid employees looking for work are having a tough time, and it could be a sign of a shift in the workplace
- Top tourist places to visit in Ooty in 2024
- Renewable energy accounted for 71 per cent of India's new power generation in FY 24
- ICC issues annual team rankings: India lead both white-ball formats while Aussies take top spot in Tests
- Bajaj Pulsar NS400Z launched at ₹1.85 lakh, becomes cheapest 400cc bike in the country
- 10 must-do activities on your next trip to Ooty in 2024
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market