Edward Snowden and The Government Data Collection Program

Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.

Under the Bush Administration, the Protect America Act was passed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. As a result, in 2007, the National Security Agency designed and operated a surveillance program called ‘Prism’. The programs’ intent is to gather web communications from major United States internet corporations. Under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Prism collects suspicious stored web communication and further employs communication companies such as, Verizon, to turn over all data that included court-approved terms, that indicated conspiracies targeted to compromise our national security. ("NSA PRISM Slides - IC OFF THE RECORD," 2013). Now, you may feel conflicted about their approach to securing our safety, but some are certain that this is undoubtedly a breech in our civil liberties. Lee (2013), states, “Civil liberties groups warned that the PAA 's vague requirements and lack of oversight would give the government a green light to seek indiscriminate access to the private communications of Americans. They predicted that the government would claim that they needed unfettered access to domestic communications to be sure they had gotten all relevant information about suspected terrorists.” Imagine we have a government that justifies spying on its citizens without any legal authorization to do so. The exploit our trust by suggesting that they

The NSA has also acquired many people’s addresses and buddy list connected from their phones.

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.

While the Verizon aspect of the story is correct, the details of what PRISM does is not entirely correct. PRISM accesses information from nine internet companies (Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL, and Apple) (Barton). He claims that instead of outrage, critics on both ends of the political spectrum are attacking the NSA for their activities, which Thiessen claims are legal and follow the constitution. This is only partially correct, as for it would need to comply with FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) and its amendments. However, under section 215 of the Patriot Act, the government does not have to prove that a target in an investigation is a foreign power (Donahue). This, combined with the fact that the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment does not cover foreigners from searches done abroad (Donahue), can potentially lead to this system being abused. From what the details of the Snowden leaks showed, it has already gotten to that

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.

Snowden said, “This is a turning point, and it marks the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the NSA and restore the public's seat at the table of government.” (NY Times). In this statement Edward Snowden shows that by disclosing government programs like spying on citizens, it will allow the public to decide whether or not we want our government to have the power to do so. Though the NSA was mainly out to find terrorists and others of that nature, by tapping into phone calls and emails, the people of the United States, rightfully so, had different

According to Title 50, United States Code, sections 1809(a)(1) “A person is guilty of an offense if he intentionally engages in elctronic surveillance under color of law except as authorized by statute.” Clearly, the NSA program qualifies as electronic surveillance, thus the program is illegal, unless “authorized by statute” or deemed unconstitutional. Is it legal? The Supreme Court has avoided concrete statements that would answer that question. The most relevant and recent judicial announcement came from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Cour of Review’s opinion in Sealed Case NO. 02-001.61. It state, “We take for granted that the President does have the authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information and, assuming that is so, FISA (Foreign Surveillance Investigative Agency) could not encroach on the President’s constitutional power.” However, the NSA program has violated FISA regulation, therefore it has been questioned whether or not the NSA is constitutional. Is it a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights? The wiretapping program violates FISA, a solid congressional regulation of the government’s powers. FISA creates criminal liability for those who conduct such wiretapping. Whether or not they should be prosecuted, those persons have committed federal

Edward Snowden worked Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), he copied NSA’s surveillance confidential material in May 2013 and planned to leak the information. He knows if he leaked in the U.S. will be arrested, so he gets an excuse leaving the U.S and leaked out the information of NSA in Hong Kong. He leaked out the surveillance of NSA is a traitor for the U.S government because he betrayed the NSA and he has the respond keep secret. The information of surveillance he revealed cause the NSA in hard time deal with terrorist and the country has crisis in position of world. In the opposite, he is a hero for the civics because he revealed the facts of the NSA surveillance, people’s privacy surveillance through phone and internet all the time.

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

In the Marbury v. Madison case, it established judicial review. Judicial review is when the US Supreme Court reviews a law and determines if it is constitutional or unconstitutional, but since the PRISM program is such a big secret it can’t be helped. If you do look the constitution and specifically at the Fourth Amendment, it specifically says, “...to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable search and seizures shall not be violated,” Though the opponent may claim that it is to protect our country, it hasn’t stopped terrorist attacks. From NBC News, “ While Stone said the mass collection of telephone call records was a ‘logical program’ from the NSA’s perspective, one question the White House panel was seeking to answer was whether it had actually stopped ‘any [terror attacks] that might have been really big.’ ‘We found none,’ said Stone.” Some may say that it has prevented fifty-four terrorist attacks, but Mr. Stone proves

Edward Snowden is a former computer programmer that worked for the National Security Agency, an intelligence agency of the US government that focuses on the protection of important data from foreign intelligence. But back in 2013, he was found guilty of leaking confidential information regarding the NSA’s secret surveillance program. After being charged for theft of government property, various debates arose about Snowden’s betrayal towards his country. With the movie Snowden released on September 16, 2016, the controversy still continues. One of the biggest questions that is still asked today about Snowden is whether or not he is justified for his actions. There are two ways to look at this; is Snowden an enemy or hero to America?

Privacy has endured throughout human history as the pillar upon which our authentic nature rests. Yet, in an age darkened by the looming shadow of terrorism, another force threatens to dominate the skyline and obscure the light of liberty behind promises of safety and security: government surveillance. As an employee of the NSA, Edward Snowden broke his vow of secrecy to inform the public of our government’s furtive surveillance acts, but does this render him traitorous? To answer this, we must first ask ourselves, traitorous to whom? When the very institution established to protect our fundamental liberties intrudes on our privacy from behind a veil of secrecy, should such informed individuals resign from judicious autonomy and

Edward Snowden exposed NSA’s illegal surveillance in June 2013, this brought about controversial discussions inside America and all over the globe. However, we stay oblivious how this thirty-year-old school dropout advanced to become one of the most recognized critics of the government. Snowden is considered a patriot and a hero of the country, human rights movements like the ACLU and Amnesty International believe that Edward Snowden championed for the privacy rights of the citizens. (Greenwald, 2014) On the contrary, some people and the US intelligence consider Snowden a traitor to the state, the way he exposed the NSA was dubious and brought great risk to the international relationship of the US. Moreover, the state government accused him of breaching of information on the state.

Edward Snowden is a United States citizen and former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden leaked information about the NSA to the media in 2013 and is now in Russia where he was recently granted three years of asylum. The NSA uses cryptology and others forms of information gathering to enable various networks to make advantageous decisions for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances. The NSA operates undetected by civilians, and uses global monitoring so broadly defined that it has allowed for unscrupulous behavior that was witnessed by contracted employee, Edward Snowden. Snowden believed that as the public gained knowledge of the illegal intelligence gathering by the government of domestic citizens, and abroad, he would gain protection from the public. Snowden did receive protection from people including powerful lawyers, journalists, and privacy advocates. Analysis of the Edward Snowden case