Edward Snowden's Loss Of Privacy

George Orwell, the author of 1984 stated, “We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it” (Orwell). In other words, those who have power usually remain in power. For example, all throughout history, a blue print has been laid out on how to stay in control, (capitalism, religion, slavery, and information to name a few). Similarly, one could argue the National Security Agency (NSA) is one of the most powerful entities in the world today. For instance, the NSA is a national level intelligence agency responsible for global monitoring, collecting, and processing information data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. By extension, Edward Joseph Snowden is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who copied and leaked classified information from the NSA without authorization in 2013. Naturally, these revelations generated unprecedented attention around the globe on national security and information privacy, which has led to a worldwide debate on these issues. Therefore, moral theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics will help determine whether Snowden’s actions were ethically right, wrong, or permissible. As a result, after ethically analyzing the case of Edward Snowden, it has been determined he was morally justified for his actions.

Everyone is familiar with the atrocity that occurred in New York on September 11, 2001. The hijacked planes, the towers crashing down, killing hundreds of civilians. Truth is, the attack left everyone in the county and around the world in an extreme state of shock. It was America after all, things like that were not supposed to happen within this country’s borders. Things like that only occurred in places thousands of miles away, places with unstable governments like Syria, and Iran. Fueled by extreme anger, and fear of another attack, many citizens demanded that their government improve its protection over its citizens. In response, the government presented the Patriot Act, a 342 page bill that gave federal officials more power to track and intercept communications, both for law enforcement and foreign intelligence gathering purposes. In 2013, Edward Snowden leaked information to the public that the government was spying and collecting hundreds of information from millions of Americans without the use of any warrants. This information was being shared throughout different departments such as the CIA, FBI and NSA. More than a decade has gone by and terrorism continues to be a threat to our society, Now everyone must ask themselves, to what extent should citizens allow its own government to increase its own power to protect them from terrorism? How many liberties are they willing to give up for for such protection?

On June 6, 2013 the details of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance activities where given by Edward Snowden to the public; raising concerns of Americans about their privacy. Edward Snowden, a former employee of the NSA, gave the alarming details of surveillance programs in his interview on how the NSA accesses our emails, calls, internet activity, and anything else that is related to technology. In this system of surveillance the NSA can gather data from companies and tap the cables that are vital for moving around information from technological devices, they may also use their relationships with technology companies to get emails or information straight from U.S. servers. (Cawley, Kiss, Boyd, Ball) Nevertheless, the claim is

Prior to these leaked documents, we were completely unaware to what extent the patriot act allowed these agencies to go. We know now that they are able to monitor each individual citizen, everything from what they search for on the internet, who they call, where they go, to what and who they text, is all recorded and documented. This act, as it turns out, impedes many individual civil liberties and rights to privacy. The reason this is being done is still said to be for national security, all in an attempt to catch any would-be terrorist before they strike, thus keeping the American citizens safe. However, If Snowden’s claims are true, they have gone much too far. People are taking a stand against it and accusing the government of impeding their civil rights. The people have said it is too much and needs to be stopped.

Snowden then made a choose to copy Top-secret NSA documents while he was at work. He gathered a significant amount of documents that he found invasive and disturbing. One of the Programs was PRISM. PRISM is a clandestine surveillance program under which the United States NSA collects internet communications from at least nine major US internet companies. Since 2001 the United States government has increased its scope for such surveillance, and so this program was launched in 2007 . PRISM program, including Microsoft in 2007, Yahoo! in 2008, Google in 2009,Facebook in 2009, Paltalk in 2009, YouTube in 2010, AOL in 2011, Skype in 2011 and Apple in

After discovering that the National Security Agency had the ability to use its surveillance system to spy on billions of people through electronic devices, Snowden leaked to the public documents that contained information about these surveillance practices. Millions of American citizens were disturbed to find out that their own government was

Lon Snowden, as well as others have compared Edward Snowden to “Paul Revere” and have called him a “Hero” while others vilify him (Gidda 3). Technically what he has done is a crime, yet many people rally to his defence. “There is every reason to believe the federal government has been collecting every bit of information about every American’s phone calls”(Hertzberg 2). Through Edward Snowden’s actions we have learned of the governments data collecting program: Prism. This has provoked the public to question the credibility of the government. It has also stirred politicians and citizens alike into a frenzy, debating over the legality, constitutionality, and necessity of these covert operations. Edward Snowdens revelations on the NSA data

I read "No Place To Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State" by Glenn Greenwald. The book takes a first-person look into the NSA scandal and Edward Snowden from one of the journalists who met with Snowden to release classified U.S. documents. The book serves a purpose that is to justify the release of classified documents by Mr. Snowden as well as to cut through the misconceptions that surrounded the scandal from someone who had seen the truth first hand.

Edward Snowden has harmed and helped the U.S. from attacks. Every time, Snowden would help the NSA, the government would have an effect towards it and create a problem. For an insect, “Mr. Snowden told the Washington Post earlier this month that he did report his misgiving to two superior at the agency, showing them the volume of the data created by the NSA and that they took no action” ( The Editor Board). Sense Snowden, was a huge problem for the NSA, it was hard for them to believe he helped the government. Overall, Snowden did take valuable documents, leaked prompt new communication from the NSA, and expose the intelligence community to the public.

The NSA had broken over 2,500 laws and violations in 2012. The NSA has been reported to and admitted to overlooking private phone calls, emails, cellular text messages and other conversations. The NSA’s mission is to protect the people by monitoring global information and intelligence. Many people believe that the NSA isn’t trying to spy on citizens, but they are trying to protect the welfare of the majority population. The NSA’s monitoring system and devices have been used to overview communications of any threats to the U.S. With these systems, the NSA has found and located some ISIS members and terroristic activities. 8The question is how far should a typical American’s privacy be invaded to keep us safe. By monitoring all conversations of everyone, the NSA has gone too far. In the past, monitoring occurred only for those deemed to be a threat. This should continue to be the

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walked beside her, along with a group of American security guards. They finally arrived at their destination, a tall tan building that looked completely ordinary. They were escorted to a room by some kind of Russian security. The doors opened and Cynthia looked inside to see a white table and sitting at one end was the one and only Edward Snowden. He had pale skin, brown eyes, and a thin pair of glasses that seemed to make him look even more like a geek, if that is possible. Snowden had been in Russia since 2013, seeking temporary asylum there after exposing NSA surveillance tactics. It is still unknown if he will be able to return.

From the time children can understand what is right and what is wrong, it is instilled in them to do what is right, even if it will get them in trouble. Sadly, as those children grow up they learn the harsh reality that speaking truth to power can lead to prosecution. Such is the case of whistleblower Edward Snowden. A former contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA). Who in June of 2013 contacted veteran journalist Glen Greenwald and award-winning Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, asking both to meet him in a hotel room in Hong Kong. That 's meeting would be one that changed the culture of the United States. As the information, Mr. Snowden leaked showed that not only had the NSA been collecting information it had

Although it is unclear how much information Snowden had access too, it is believed to be around 1.7 million classified documents. These documents exposed to the public the NSA’s major collection of phone and internet metadata from U.S users, according to NBC New,s in their article “Who is Edward Snowden, the Man Who Spilled the NSA’s Sectret:” the NSA was “Spying on the personal communications of foreign leaders, including U.S. allies; and the NSA’s ability to tap undersea fiber optic cables and siphon off data.” (Dedman, Bruckner, and Cole; NBC News) Following the initial leak of this story, The Guardian published a secret court order in which showed how the NSA was requiring Verizon to hand over all of its telephone data to them on a daily basis. With this, followed more revelations both within the Guardian and the Washington Post. It was revealed that the NSA was not only tapping into millions of citizens phone calls and messages, but that they were also tapping into the servers of some of the world’s largest and most popular internet companies. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are a few of these big name companies. It is said that these intelligence agencies were able to track these companies by using Prism, a surveillance program. (BBC News: Edward Snowden: Leaks that

One of the prominent examples of uncontrolled surveillance is the United States, recently brought to the spotlight with whistleblower Edward Snowden. The bulk collection of data conducted by the NSA and other agencies in secrecy violates the privacy rights of the American people as stated on the constitution by the 4th amendment. The founders of the constitution did not predict the creation of phones and the internet and incorporate privacy to specifically include these products. Nonetheless, even if the privacy rights is not stated in the amendments, the act of invading civilian privacy without warrant is still a reach too far in regards to government capabilities to monitor its citizens. This capability can lead to corrupt power in the government

Travel for personal benefit is widely recognized. Things such as a trip, or a holiday are very common especially to international destinations. Edward Snowden’s journey was one of personal struggle against the country he loved and protected, as well as one to shield his own moral compass. His travel was not for personal benefit or satisfaction, but of self-security. Being considered a terrorist, Snowden is a top priority of the United States Government. They wish to extradite him from his hiding spot and bring him to justice for turning on his country, potentially putting American lives in danger, and breaking his oath as a government agent.