Recent information was leaked on the companies under the NSA’s payroll  (for access to “81% of all international phone calls into the US”). AT&T, Sprint and Verizon are said to charge hundreds of millions of dollars a year to let the NSA tap their customers’ mobile phones and keep them under surveillance.

The amounts paid to these companies (around 300 million USD) however only represent a small part of their revenues. Is their consumers’ trust worth that little? These companies are now in risk of making great losses due to an expected drop in sales – as customers no longer want them to be their providers now that information how consumer information is being sold to an agency.

Although businesses today are now much more respected and preferred when they prove to be responsible. Being a socially responsible business, trusted by consumers doesn’t only create an image, but might just save you from a scandal like this one, which will most likely lead to a much bigger (compared to the NSA’s money for information) loss of revenue.

Sources:

–       http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2013/09/23/attverizonsprint-are-paid-cash-by-nsa-for-your-private-communications/