Edward Snowden Stands Up Against the National Security Agency

The National Security Agency (NSA) has been an information gathering arm of the Executive branch since the Cold War and continues to be an essential part of ensuring the security of the United States. The public issue that involves the NSA is the spying of U.S citizens which can be seen as a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This was revealed to the public by the whistleblower Edward Snowden who released classified documents of activities that the NSA had been conducting in conjuncture with telecommunication companies, which angered many U.S citizens and received media coverage with a call for the U.S Government to restrict the NSA’s activities or at least for there to be Congressional oversight. This debate revolves around how much the NSA’s surveillance activities are actually used for national security as well as the constitutionality of the NSA’s surveillance. This all began after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 when there was a call for the attacks to never happen again and the adoption of the Patriot Act in that same year which increased the power of the NSA.

Thomas Jefferson said, “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” The National Security Agency (NSA), established by the National Security Act of 1947, exists to safeguard American citizens against terror threats and foreign intelligence.(National Archives) Since the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the NSA, through the guise of the Patriot Act, has been investigating American citizens who are not suspect of law breaking. President George W. Bush enacted the Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 [Britannica]) in October 2001, but current President Barack Obama furthered its parameters via Executive Orders such as EO’s 13526 and 13549 (Federal Register). The Agency’s private investigations have caused public suspicion. This concern was validated by the revelation of the government’s collection of metadata (phone history), storage of text messages, possession of spy programs, and proof of the wire tapping of two-country related phone calls after Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked private information to the public in May/June of 2013. (Britannica)

President Obama. The federal government expanded the power of the National Security Agency to collect data on U.S. citizens, foreigners and governments. The expansion did not become publicly known, until Edward Snowden revealed the information of the NSA's domestic spying. Emails, cell phones, and corporate data were allowed to NSA surveillance without a warrant. In June 2015 the USA Freedom Act limited the NSA's power to collect phone data.

After the disclosures by Edward Snowden turned a critical eye to the NSA many people questioned the legality of the acts. The NSA claimed that their work was legal and had prevented many terrorist plots. However, evidence of only four plots was ever found. Even if the acts were founded in law, they still angered large numbers of citizens. Many citizens do not care if the spying is legal, believing that it is morally wrong. Government surveillance organizations have grown to be extremely powerful and are capable of accessing large swaths of personal information; these abilities intrude into the private lives of citizens and need to be curtailed.

Ever since the American public was made aware of the United States government’s surveillance policies, it has been a hotly debated issue across the nation. In 2013, it was revealed that the NSA had, for some time, been collecting data on American citizens, in terms of everything from their Internet history to their phone records. When the story broke, it was a huge talking point, not only across the country, but also throughout the world. The man who introduced Americans to this idea was Edward Snowden.

“Even if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’re being watched and recorded,” said former NSA information technology contractor, Edward Snowden, as quoted in an article by CNN political reporter, Jeremy Diamond. Despite his low position in the National Security Agency, Snowden caught the world’s eye in 2013 when he leaked documents revealing the NSA and FISC’s plans for mass domestic surveillance in the United States. His decision to reveal classified documents sent the nation into widespread outrage. The NSA had access to not only metadata (records of activity), but also content containing personal information that Americans rightfully assumed was protected by laws such as the Stored Communications Act (SCA) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act

In “How the NSA’s Domestic Spying Program Works,” the author reveals that many of “aspects of the (NSA) Program were aimed not just at targeted individuals, but perhaps millions of innocent Americans never suspected of a crime.” The author develops his thesis by detailing a few examples of major telecommunication companies that share customer’s call records to the NSA (AT&T, Sprint) and explaining that programs were implemented to monitor the emails of citizens (“amounted to at least 1.7 billion emails a day”). The author uses examples of how NSA decisions were made without a “warrant or any judicial oversight,” in order to increase citizen awareness of how the NSA functions. The author uses a erudite tone to address the audience of Americans

Edward Snowden was a man who worked for the NSA and exposed all of the information that the NSA was accessing from U.S. citizens and those people around the world. Through his actions Snowden did break the law, “He has been charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence” (BBC News). Even though Snowden knew he would be charged for his actions, he still wanted to do the right thing and expose to the people what the NSA was doing. Snowden was looking at the information that was being collected and realized it was not necessary to keep Americans safe. Instead, collecting this information was abruptly digging into their lives and going against their rights as human beings. When this information was exposed, the citizens wanted the government and the NSA to ultimately change what exactly they were accessing and how they were accessing it. This event that Snowden

Disturbingly the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting metadata on Americans personal telephones and electronics devices for several years. This collection was happening before the NSA Analyst Edward Snowden leaked these facts to the world in late 2013. The NSA was formed in the 1950’s, and during this time frame the NSA disseminated intelligence information from electronic signals for foreign and counter intelligence purposes, which supported the American military needs. Currently the NSA has refocused their spying tactics to technology driven devices. The NSA has an extensive “telephone-metadata program, since 2001, and they collect phone records of virtually all Americans” (Lizza, 2013).

Officially given its name on the fourth of November 1952, the National Security Agency was developed to ensure the safety of American citizens (Howe 11). In an effort to prevent any unauthorized spying on innocent civilians a court known as FISA was created in 1978 to regulate the NSA. Up until the events of September 11th, 2001, the NSA was used strictly as a tool for foreign investigation to decipher international communications (“Frequently Asked Questions About NSA” 1). Twenty-three days after the Twin Towers fell, President Bush passed the Patriot Act (“Timeline of NSA Domestic Spying” 16). This act ushered the NSA into a position of limitless capability. Millions of Americans are having their personal lives followed, tracked, and recorded into mass data pools. This unethical acquisition of personal information is in strict violation of the Fourth Amendment. Immediate action must be taken by the Government to return the rights assured by our Founding Fathers and the Constitution.

In 2013, word spread rapidly through the United States and the rest of the world that the National Security Agency had access to files that the general public was unaware of due to these reforms. Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agent, leaked the truth about the NSA’s conduct to reporters and newspapers nationwide. The files that Snowden was referring to include call records and contents, emails, Facebook posts, instant messages, and Google searches. The NSA also hacked into various servers around the world, breaking some foreign countries’ laws. Those servers even included those of allied countries like Germany and other Western democracies. While they believed that their actions were technically legal within U.S. law, they were blatantly breaking the laws of foreign

People make phone calls, and send emails all the time. These things are usually private and involve small groups of people. However, we have discovered that phone calls and emails are not as private as one may think. The government and the National Security Agency (NSA), have been spying on citizens and collecting data from the calls made and text messages and emails sent. Though they say they are doing this for our safety and to detect terrorists, the NSA has not caught many terrorists with the methods of surveillance they are using. NSA methods are ineffective and have not produced adequate results to justify their damage to civil liberties.

The NSA fails to ensure citizens that the targets of the programs are in fact foreigners. NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden states “while NSA may be intending on targeting someone involved with a foreign government or that they suspect of terrorism, they collect everyone's phone data”(NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden). In other words, the NSA collects everyone's phone data, whether suspected of terrorism or not. The ACLU adds that the problem with the FISA act, an amendment signed into law by president bush in 2008 expanded government authority to monitor electronic communications, “permits the government to monitor people who aren’t even thought to be doing anything wrong” (Does the government actually understands the 4th amendment). The government cannot legally collect phone info/data on people without the issue of a warrant. Finally, Edward Snowden claims that he “could wiretap anyone even the president if intending to harm the U.S”(NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden).

The National Security Agency does not have any restrictions on the use of data, and former Obama administration officials said the agency collected data from both Americans and foreigners. The data links phone numbers and e-mails directly or indirectly to a person or organization that is of foreign interest. Almost all information about the National Security Agency’s operations is hidden. The limitations concerning Americans was decided in secret. The Justice Department and the Pentagon allowed for the National Security Agency to create contact chains including the timing, location and other details of calls and e-mails, but not the content (James Risen, Laura Poitras).

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the