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Trade groups representing Facebook Inc. (FB), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) are pushing the Senate to pass legislation limiting National Security Agency spying before the Republican majority takes control of the chamber.

A coalition of Internet and technology companies, which also include Google Inc. (GOOG) and Twitter Inc. (TWTR), support a bill the Senate plans to vote on Nov. 18 to prohibit the NSA from bulk collection of their subscribers e-mails and other electronic communications. Many of the companies opposed a Republican-backed bill the House passed in May, saying a loophole would allow bulk collection of Internet user data.

Members of the Consumer Electronics Association have already lost contracts with foreign governments worth millions of dollars, in response to revelations about U.S. spying, Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive officer of the group that represents Apple, Google and Microsoft, wrote in a letter sent to all senators on Nov. 13.

The clock is ticking. If a final bill isnt reached this year, the process for passing legislation would begin over in January under a new Congress controlled by Republicans, many of whom support government surveillance programs.

U.S. Internet and technology companies are confronting a domestic and international backlash against government spying that may cost them as much as $180 billion in lost business, according to Forrester Research Inc. (FORR)

The issue emerged in June 2013 when former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed a program under which the U.S. uses court orders to compel companies to turn over data about their users. Documents divulged by Snowden also uncovered NSA hacking of fiber-optic cables abroad and installation of surveillance tools into routers, servers and other network equipment.

The NSA's Gigantic Haystack

Apple and Google have retaliated by offering stronger security, including on new smartphones, that will automatically shield photos, contact lists and other documents from the government. That, in turn, has heightened tensions with law enforcement agencies that want access to the data for criminal investigations.

The Senate bill, S. 2685, would end one of the NSAs most controversial domestic spy programs, through which it collects and stores the phone records of millions of people not suspected of any wrongdoing. In addition to curbing data collection, the legislation would allow companies to publicly reveal the number and types of orders they receive from the government to hand over user data.

Instead, the NSA would be required to get court orders to obtain the records, such as numbers dialed and call durations from Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and other carriers. The phone records dont include the content of communications, and the carriers would be given liability protection and compensation under the bill.

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Facebook, Microsoft, Apple Make Year-End Lobbying Push to Curb NSA Spying

Several technology and digital rights groups have praised a U.S. Senate move toward passing legislation that would rein in the National Security Agencys domestic telephone records collection program.

A procedural vote on the USA Freedom Act could come as early as Tuesday, with a final vote on the bill in the days following. The bill, aimed at ending the NSAs widespread collection of U.S. telephone records, would have to pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives by the end of the year to become law.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, filed a motion to move the bill forward late Wednesday.

Among the groups applauding the decision to move forward with the bill were software trade group BSA, tech trade group the Computer and Communications Industry Association, digital rights group the Center for Democracy and Technology and justice advocacy group the Brennan Center for Justice.

The legal reforms in the USA Freedom Act send a clear signal to U.S. citizens and Internet users around the world that Congress is serious about reforming government surveillance practices, and providing the judiciary and the public with tools that allow better oversight over remaining narrowed programs, CCIA President and CEO Ed Black said by email.The USA Freedom Act closes key loopholes on bulk call data collection and offers greater transparency, which is essential for citizens in a free democracy.

Libraries have been fighting against government searches allowed under the antiterrorism Patriot Act for 13 years, said American Library Association President-elect Sari Feldman.

The Senate bill gives Congress the opportunity to prove to the American people that their freedom from broad surveillance by their own government matters more than political posturing, Feldman said in a statement. Its time, way past time, to finally vote on and pass [the] bipartisan, intelligence community-backed USA Freedom Act without weakening its already modest protections for the public.

While the bill has a good chance of passing in the Senate, it may face a tougher test in the House, where several prominent lawmakers have suggested the legislation would hurt the ability of the U.S. government to fight terrorism. House members approved a compromise, watered-down version of the bill in May.

While top officials in President Barack Obamas administration have voiced support for the stronger Senate version of the bill, some lawmakers have suggested the bill would endanger the U.S.

The Senate bill would require the NSA to use specific selection terms to limit its targets in the telephone records collection, and require the government to issue reports on the number of people targeted in surveillance programs.

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Tech, digital rights groups applaud Senate move on NSA reform

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