Obama, tech leaders discuss NSA concerns

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

WASHINGTON • President Barack Obama has met with executives from tech companies including Apple Inc. and AT&T Inc. about concerns stemming from the disclosure of sweeping government surveillance programs.

The White House says the Thursday meeting was part of an ongoing effort to engage on privacy issues and the proper balance with national security in the digital age. Privacy groups also attended the meeting, which wasn't on Obama's public schedule.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and Apple CEO Tim Cook attended, as did Google executive Vint Cerf. Civil liberties groups including Public Knowledge and the Center for Democracy and Technology were also invited.

The meeting comes two days after other top White House officials met with tech industry representatives and privacy groups to discuss similar concerns.

The meeting was first reported by Politico.