Obama reassures Internet CEOs on tech privacy

Joining Obama and the CEOs were Obama’s commerce secretary, homeland security adviser, and counselor John Podesta, whom Obama has tasked with leading a review of privacy and “big data”.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues left without speaking to reporters. The White House said Obama gave the CEOs an update on the big data review, which is examining the complex and evolving relationship between the government, its citizens and their private information.

“The president reiterated his administration’s commitment to taking steps that can give people greater confidence that their rights are being protected while preserving important tools that keep us safe,” the White House said in a statement.

In the lead-up to Friday’s meeting, Zuckerberg took to his own Facebook page to strongly condemn Obama’s administration for its secret spying tactics, following reports that the NSA had once used spoofs of the social network to infect computers with malware.

Facebook said Zuckerberg raised his concerns directly to Obama and was grateful for his personal engagement. In a statement, Facebook called it an “honest talk’’ about government intrusion and its toll on people’s confidence that the Internet is free and open.