Snowden Right To Privacy Essay

Edward Snowden is considered by many to be a criminal, but there are others who firmly believe that Edward Snowden is a patriot, and rightfully so Edward Snowden is a hero to the American people and many abroad. The United States government has the responsibility to serve, protect and aid the American people, but sometimes the government and some of its classified documents every now and then get published and criticized. Edward Snowden had worked for multiple government agencies such as the CIA, NSA and prior to that an American contractor as a computer professional, and during his tenure at the NSA he had realized the grotesque and unprofessional ethics and violations of privacy against the American people, and so many innocent citizens

The arguments against Snowden are that he accepted a position of trust in his relation to the government (Stone 1). The job Snowden accepted had the condition that he was not to share the secrets he was working with (Stone 2). Edward Snowden did not have to accept the job if he did not want to agree to the conditions. The Supreme Court decided in the case of Snepp v. United States that the government can constitutionally require that employees agree to keep information relating to their classified activities private (Stone 3). Since the job Snowden had required that level of discretion then he broke an agreement with the company he worked for, and the government. The argument against Snowden is that not only did he break his agreement but that no one individual can decide what should and should not be shared with the citizens under the government (Stone 4). Many believe that Snowden was arrogant to think that he should decide what to do with the information he leaked. Geoffrey Stone from the Huffington Post believes that Snowden should have taken that information to a responsible member of Congress rather than take it upon himself to leak the information to the world (Stone 5). Those who agree with Geoffrey Stone would brand Snowden a criminal. The issue

The need to protect National Security is far more important than individual privacy. The greatest part of living in the United States of America is the freedom that we have. That freedom and the right to live freely is protected by various government agencies. From time to time, the privacy a person has may have to be invaded to guarantee the security of the country and other citizens. Everyone has the right to not have their life controlled by the government, but it has the right to make sure that citizens are not doing anything to threaten the security of

During the past decade, an issue has arisen from the minds of people, on which is more important? Privacy or national security? The problem with the privacy is that people do not feel they have enough of it and national security is increasing causing the government to be less worried about the people. National security is growing out of control which has led to the decrease in people’s privacy and has created fear in the eyes of U.S. citizens. “Twelve years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and amid a summer of revelations about the extent of the surveillance state built up to prevent others, leaders, experts and average Americans alike are searching for the right balance between security and privacy” (Noble). Americans should be able to live their daily lives without fear of an overpowered government or a “big brother” figure taking over. “According to a CBS News poll released Tuesday evening, nearly 6 in 10 Americans said they disapproved of the federal government’s collecting phone records of ordinary Americans in order to reduce terrorism” (Gonchar). While it is good to keep our country safe with security, American’s privacy should be more important because there is a substantial amount of national security, the people 's rights should matter first.

Privacy is what allows people to feel secure in their surroundings. With privacy, one is allowed to withhold or distribute the information they want by choice, but the ability to have that choice is being violated in today’s society. Benjamin Franklin once said, “He who sacrifices freedom or liberty will eventually have neither.” And that’s the unfortunate truth that is and has occurred in recent years. Privacy, especially in such a fast paced moving world, is extremely vital yet is extremely violated, as recently discovered the NSA has been spying on U.S. citizens for quite a while now; based on the Fourth Amendment, the risk of leaked and distorted individual information, as well as vulnerability to lack of anonymity.

The law, as fearful and absolute as it may be, is not always just. It is actually quite admirable that he knowingly broke a serious law that not many dare to commit to do what he truly felt was the right thing to do. According to Edward Snowden himself, “There were people throughout the NSA that I worked with that I had private conversations with—and I’ve had conversations since in other federal agencies—who had the same concerns I did, but they were afraid to take action because they knew what would happen.” (Nation) To many Americans, this make Snowden a hero. It is extremely courageous to sacrifice and risk everything you have to fight for and protect the rights of your fellow Americans by standing up against the federal government knowing full well of the consequences of his action. He did not betray the country, but instead, he fought to preserve the true form of liberty and freedom at its core in which our country have adopted and built itself

In 1787, the constitution was born. The constitution has been America’s guideline to the American way of life. Our US constitution has many points in it to protect America and it’s people from an overpowered government, our economy, and ourselves. The only thing the constitution doesn’t directly give us, is our right to privacy, and our right to privacy has been a big concern lately courtesy of the National Security Agency (NSA).(#7) Although our constitution doesn’t necessarily cover the privacy topic, it does suggest that privacy is a given right. Some people say that the right to privacy was so obvious, that our founding fathers didn’t even feel the need to make a point about it.(#9) It also didn’t help

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?

While working for the NSA, Snowden became aware of their extensive trespasses against the privacy of U.S. and international citizens alike. Upon considering the extent of these trespasses, Snowden felt that it was his moral duty, as he stated, “to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them”. His provided information showed the use of Internet surveillance programs, and the evaluation of phone records in the form of “metadata”. Many argue that Snowden’s leaking of information has hindered our government’s ability to intercept terrorist plots, by informing the world of the NSA’s capabilities, and therefore allowing terrorist groups to plot attacks beyond the reach of U.S. surveillance. In light of this, Snowden’s leak has indeed made us more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, but does this justify the NSA’s chosen use of power? Since Snowden’s revelations, it has become evident that the NSA consistently uses their surveillance abilities to unjustified ends. One function of the NSA’s electronic data analysis is to find targets for the military’s Joint Special Operations Command to strike with lethal drone attacks. Many innocent civilians in middle-eastern countries have lost their lives as a result of this military sect’s reliance on the NSA’s data, rather than human correspondence. According to an anonymous former drone-operator, the victims of these attacks “might have been terrorists, or they could have been

His inspiration was moral and the effects of the leaks were unmistakably to benefit people and reestablish privacy and security. Particularly, strengthen the democracy. As defined by Near and Miceli “the disclosure by organization members (former or current) of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action” (Near & Miceli, 1985, p. 4) Snowden ought to be invited home for his service to the nation, and for his bravery and truthfulness in the way in which he implemented this service to public by blowing a whistle. Apart from outstanding situations, citizens have a right to know what their governing administration is doing, specifically what it is doing to them. In this whistleblowing case, as Snowden uncovered to us, that the government is holding citizens under far-reaching and profoundly interfering surveillance.

Edward Snowden a National Security Administration contractor left United States and leaked information on the National Security Agency's surveillance programs in Hong Kong. The U.S. authorities has charged former CIA technician with espionage after he leaked details of American telephone and internet surveillance programs. It’s hard for me to believe that Snowden is an espionage when he has more to lose than gain especially at the age of 29 with high paying job and living in Hawaii. The center of the issue is Privacy Act. Did NSA violate privacy act of the innocent people through collecting and storing of U.S citizen? Did Snowden violate privacy act by giving private communications of individuals spied on by the NSA? (The Atlantic, 2014).

Edward Snowden technically threatens the power the state had carefully accrued amid recurring wars and the incessant preparation for war. In effect, they place in jeopardy the state’s very authority––while changing and exposing the national security of the United States. In the eyes of the states, Snowden––and others who may carry on their work¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬––can never be other than a traitor. Whether the country eventually views them as patriots depends on what Americans do with the opportunity he handed us. Studying this case of Edward Snowden, I personally believe he is a traitor as I stated exposing with the confidentiality towards their country they reside in, exposing any legal information that puts them at risk is being a traitor not a patriot

The government, specifically the NSA and Obama Administration have been embarrassed by the leaks. Their aim is to bring Snowden back to the US for prosecution and have him be the next target under the Espionage Act for whistleblowers. Under the Obama Administration there have been double the amount of people prosecuted under the act than any other previous administration in history since the enacting. (Greenberg, 2014) It seems that Snowden has seen an unfairness and gross abuse of power and has felt compelled to bring these things to light for the public interest, and for the global stage. The need for change from such actions, the employment of fear to strip the public’s rights and privacies, and the use of mining centers to take all our data to whatever government end has all been shown. They (the government) is not particularly happy with the revealed truths behind their hidden programs. The fact they label it under the Espionage Act as to say Snowden has aided our enemies in breaching national security is, to the open minded and intelligent, a cowardly move, since our “enemies” already have known

“You can't have 100% security and then also have 100% privacy and zero inconvenience. Society had to make choices” said President Obama. It has become a given in society that it is on the government’s agenda to procure its nation’s safety in exchange of the privacy or freedom of the people. Edward Snowden, a paladin of social justice, has now come to light with outstanding facts as for what specifically it is that the National Security Agency (NSA) is able and willing to do for the country’s sake. Snowden, a 29-year-old NSA ex-employee, worked from Hawaii on his computer support for the recollection of data in bulk from the whole nation . Under the name of Verax, which means truth teller in Latin, he

The right to privacy was not established as a constitutional doctrine until after the result of the Supreme Court ruling in the 1965 case of Griswold vs. Connecticut. The court decision was based on the interpretation of several amendments within the Bill of Rights. Although the Bill of Rights does not explicitly state anything about the right to privacy, a combination of its sections was used as the framework for establishing the right (“Griswold v. Connecticut (1965),” 2007).