Zuckerberg: U.S. Government Is a 'Threat' to Internet Security

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he called President Barack Obama to vent his frustration over the “damage” the government has wreaked on Internet security.

In a post to Facebook on Thursday, Zuckerberg said he’s been “confused and frustrated” by repeated reports of government intrusions into private online communications.

“When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we're protecting you against criminals, not our own government,” he wrote.

Zuckerberg's message comes a day after a report from The Intercept, a publication co-founded by journalist Glenn Greenwald, claimed that the National Security Agency "masqueraded as a fake Facebook server" in order to infect targets' computers with malware. The NSA on Thursday denied that it impersonated Facebook or other social-media sites.

In his post, Zuckerberg said the U.S. government “should be the champion for the internet, not a threat.”

The 29-year-old Facebook founder also revealed he has shared his unhappiness about government surveillance techniques with Obama.

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“I've called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform.”

Facebook is among several major tech companies that have complained about the limited information they can publicly disclose regarding requests from the government for customers’ data. The government has sought such data for counter-terrorism and other intelligence-related investigations.

— NBC News