Eight technology firms had called on the US government to tighten controls on how it gathers personal data. Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft Corp, Twitter, LinkedIn Corp, Yahoo Inc and AOL Inc reportedly wrote an open letter to US President Barack Obama and Congress about the issue. The tech companies said that based on recent revelations, the balance for online surveillance has tipped too much in favor of the state in a lot of countries and away from the individual, Reuters reported.

It can be recalled that in June, Edward Snowden made public that some top secret government surveillance programs were able to access communications through cables that are linked to technology firms' different data centers abroad. Snowden was a former contractor of the National Security Agency. After the exposé, Internet firms in the US issued a warning that American businesses stand to lose overseas revenues as customers could turn to local alternatives due to distrust.

The letter said in part, "We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. But this summer's revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide. The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state and away from the rights of the individual - rights that are enshrined in our Constitution. This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It's time for a change."

Reuters reported that some of the eight companies who have made the call have publicized their decision to heighten their site's encryption and security. The combined market capitalization of the eight firms is close to USD 1.4 trillion.

The companies have placed their call on "Reform Government Surveillance" on a website. They said the government should lead by putting limits on how much user information it can gather. They said that surveillance should also be limited only to specific and known users and that they should not collect bulk data.