"Nothing practical would be achieved by having Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page penalized for what they said on record, in public against a government agency. Nothing would benefit the American people by having them put on trial or their companies sued for violating national security."

Your post is well written and presents an interesting viewpoint, but this is completely wrong. A handfull of the most powerful and wealthiest companies in the world standing up to the US government wouldn't achieve anything? What? It would make a HUGE difference. If the people involved won't stand up for what's right due to personal fear, that's understandable. Most people wouldn't. But they shouldn't pretend it's for any other reason. To do so is a huge insult to those who do have enough courage to do the right thing in the face of huge risk--much greater risk than is faced by these frightened SV millionaires and billionaires.