How Is Edward Snowden Ethical

In the last two decades, national security has increased dramatically due to the threat of terrorism following 9/11. As national security has increased, so has the reliance on data and secrecy, however there has never been a method of keeping any form of data completely secure. The National Security agency has existed since 1952, however it was only until after 9/11 that they began increasing their level of civilian monitoring. For years, the NSA was monitoring vast amounts of data from around the globe, and it was completely unknown to the public. The size of their data mining was unknown until leaks from Edward Snowden began to come to light. Edward Snowden was a consultant to a private consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, at

Edward Snowden “is the world’s most famous spy, whistleblower, and fugitive, responsible for the biggest intelligence breach in recent US History” (MacAskill 2013). Snowden leaked documents to journalist that exposed the partners of the United States, it’s spy agencies, and domestic surveillance of citizens out of the country. He leaked the information because he believed the public people should be the voice on whether or not the policies were moral or immoral. Just like Henry Thoreau, Snowden believed that the people should do what they believe is right for themselves and not follow the orders of the government if they believe the laws and policies are unjust.

How would you feel if someone watched everything that you did online? After the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1996, and the September 11 attacks, the federal government significantly expanded counterterrorism and domestic surveillance law enforcement tools in order to prevent terrorism. In 1996, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act was passed, which increased domestic surveillance tools by law enforcement. In 2001, the federal government passed the USA PATRIOT act, that expanded the authority and power of the intelligence community and law enforcement in order to respond to domestic and international acts of terrorism. This also created the Department of Homeland Security, that controls all almost all of the government agencies that are responsible for preventing and responding to domestic terrorism. In 2013, Edward Snowden released many classified

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, 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

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.

In early 2013 a man by the name of Edward Joseph Snowden began leaking classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents to media outlets, which in turn ended up in public ears. These documents, mainly involving intelligence Snowden acquired while working as an NSA contractor, are mostly related to global surveillance programs run by the NSA. This has raised multiple ethical issues ranging from national security, information privacy and the ethics behind whistleblowing in general. The reach and impact of these leaks have gone global and have put in question the very government that protects us as well as the extent of the public’s rights on privacy. Various foreign

After September 11th, Americans looked to the government for protection and reassurance. However, they did not expect to find out thirteen years later that the government did this by using technology to spy on Americans, as well as other countries. George W. Bush began the policy shortly after the terrorist attack and Barack Obama continued it. There have been many confrontations over the years about the extent of the N.S.A.’s spying; however, the most recent whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, leaked information that caused much upset throughout America (EFF). It has also brought many people to question: is he a hero or a traitor?

Edward Snowden isn’t the only person who believes what the U.S. had done was wrong, but also many American leaders, and other nations around the world. The United States had not only been collecting data on their own citizens, but also of other countries leaders and citizens. The release of these documents had strained political relationships between the U.S. and other allied nations. The knowledge and truth other leaders and nations had gained

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?

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.

An analysis of the merits of the Snowden leaks and the broader issue of security vs. privacy and mass surveillance from the perspective of at least two ethical theories.

The ethical issues involving Edward Snowden’s case encompass key issues of morality. Snowden’s actions are to be interpreted as right or wrong based on the circumstances and personal reasoning. The preceding interpretation is this case in every ethical quandary. Once these issues are assimilated to the affected parties we begin to understand the larger picture of morality and ethical reasoning in Snowden’s case.

Many people have always wondered what the word ethics mean. To me ethics is the feeling of right and wrong. Many people have their own way of defining ethics and but this is what ethics mean to me. Ethics to other people might mean following the laws and some may say ethics is determined by what society is believed is right and wrong. For example Edward Snowden, a 30 year old man was born in North Carolina in 1983 (Edward snowden.biography, 2013, para. 1). Edward Snowden was a security guard that worked for the National Security Agency (NSA), after three months Edward Snowden started to collect NSA files and fled to Hong Kong and leaked the files. China started to print out report of the files that Edward Snowden has leaked to China

Snowden revealed hard evidence of the NSA lying about collecting location data which is in violation of the regulations set within the FISA Amendments Act. What the NSA described in their leaked report was that they used this location data to determine if their target was a US citizen since they were not allowed to collect domestic communication data without a warrant, another unethical strategy of avoiding the law. Edward Snowden also revealed that the NSA collects intelligence through numerous telecommunication companies and social-media networking sites not just Verizon. They collect phone calls, texts, e-mails, chat, videos, photos, and file transfers using big companies like Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, and Facebook.