Question

Many U.S. technology firms believe that U.S. government surveillance techniques put them at a disadvantage relative to foreign firms because:

a. Some customers have begun seeking alternative products and services untarnished by the perception of having (complicity or unwittingly) provided private information to authorities.
b. The cost to include government surveillance technology inside their products is expensive and lowers profits compared to rivals.
c. The government-required installations of software, such as Stuxnet, that U.S. tech firms must comply with inevitably take up valuable storage space, adding cost to industrial and commercial products.
d. The cost to house government workers on-site is a burden private corporations should not have to shoulder.
e. Firms in foreign governments are directly contracted to perform surveillance, and are compensated for their efforts with perks and tax breaks, while U.S. firms receive no such compensation.

Answer 1

A) Some customers have begun seeking alternative products and services untarnished by the perception of having (complicity or unwittingly) provided private information to authorities.

Step-by-step explanation:

A series of myths and conspiracy theories revolve around the how the US government gathers information about not only US citizens, but everyone around the world. It is really difficult to know how much of this may be true. But everyday some TV or YT channel releases a new world wide conspiracy led by the US government. It doesn't help that some very important people in the US government refer to these conspiracy theories themselves.

For us, common people, this is like a huge gossip repeated millions of times. Probably international corporations know better than us and that's why they are very cautious regarding some US technological companies. The rumor is out and it has been out for decades, and eventually it hurts some companies.