When the FBI Knocks: A Techie’s Moment of Truth

The recent revelation that companies like Google and Facebook routinely hand over data about users' digital communications to the National Security Agency has many Americans wondering whether everything they do online is being tracked by the government. 

This week on New Tech City, host Manoush Zomorodi and producer Alex Goldmark explore what happened when Lavabit and Calyx — two companies that took a stand for privacy — were visited by the FBI.

"There was a real serious knock at the door and when I opened the door, there was an agent straight out of central casting with a trench coat," says Nicholas Merrill of Calyx. 

The experience of Merrill and Ladar Levison of Lavabit raise questions of when technologists should hand over data to the government and what a "Hippocratic Oath" for technologists might look like. 

To hear the full story, click on the audio player.