In speaking with Obama, Zuckerberg said he shared "my frustration over the damage the government is creating."

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg today said he called President Obama to express his frustration over government spying, but does not believe the feds will make any meaningful changes in the near future.

"The U.S. government should be the champion for the Internet, not a threat," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "They need to be much more transparent about what they're doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst."

In speaking with Obama, Zuckerberg said he shared "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."

Obama has pledged to make changes to U.S. surveillance programs, particularly as it relates to the collection of phone metadata, but like most things in Washington, it's slow-going.

"At Facebook we spend a lot of our energy making our services and the whole Internet safer and more secure," Zuckerberg said today. But "when our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we're protecting you against criminals, not our own government."

Zuckerberg's post comes shortly after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked details of NSA surveillance programs to the press last year, appeared remotely at the SXSW conference in Austin. There, he encouraged the tech community to develop secure tools that would make such spying more difficult, since developers would likely have more luck thwarting spies than Congress.

Zuckerberg had a similar message today. "Together, we can build a space that is greater and a more important part of the world than anything we have today, but is also safe and secure," he wrote. "I'm committed to seeing this happen, and you can count on Facebook to do our part."

The Facebook chief was similarly critical of the NSA back in September, when he said that the government "blew it" when it came to communicating with the public about its spy programs.

The latest revelation from leaked NSA documents, meanwhile, is that the agency has been hijacking botnets for spying purposes, according to Reuters.

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Zuckerberg Complains to Obama About NSA Spying

When youre Mark Zuckerberg, you can do things a little differently from everyone else. Worried about a pesky construction project next door? Drop $30 million and buy up a four-pack of your neighbors homes. Worried that the NSAs widespread surveillance may undermine everyones trust in the internet and torpedo your social networking business? Give the President a call.

Apparently, thats what Zuck did last night, shortly after the website First Look Media reported that the NSA had been masquerading as a Facebook server in order to infect target computers. Ive called President Obama to express my frustration over the damage the government is creating for all of our future, Zuckerberg wrote in a note he posted to Facebook today.

When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine were protecting you against criminals, not our own government. Mark Zuckerberg

A White House spokeswoman confirmed that Zuckerberg and Obama spoke last night, discussing recent reports in the press about alleged activities by the U.S. intelligence community, but she declined to tell us what exactly was said. It seems, however, that Facebooks CEO and founder did not get what he wanted. Unfortunately, it seems like it will take a very long time for true full reform, Zuckerberg wrote.

Zuckerberg is just one of the many people across Silicon Valley who are concerned about the future of the internet now that ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden has revealed the extent of the agencys surveillance programs. Although companies such as Facebook may participate in many of the agencys efforts, the scope of the NSAs spying has taken even savvy Silicon Valley insiders by surprise. Widespread spying undermines everyones trust in the internet. To keep the internet strong, we need to keep it secure, Zuckerberg wrote. This is why Ive been so confused and frustrated by the repeated reports of the behavior of the US government. When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine were protecting you against criminals, not our own government.

Things were once better between Zuckerberg and Obama. Just over two years ago, Facebook hosted a town hall meeting where the friendly discussion revolved around the economy. Back then, the U.S. Federal Trade Commissions scrutiny of Facebooks privacy policies was the topic most likely to come up in a private conversation. Since then, the tables have turned, and Zuckerberg is now the guy worried about privacy.

Today, Zuckerberg called on the feds to be much more transparent about what theyre doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst. But that isnt going to happen any time soon. Though the NSA has said that parts of yesterdays reports are incorrect, there remains much that is still unclear.

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Zuckerberg Phones Obama for Answers About NSA Spying