The largest Association of hackers in Europe has lodged a criminal proceeding against the government of German for helping a foreign intelligence body, the US NSA and the British GCHQ. The allegations are that the government allowed or colluded with the two spying bodies, and in so doing went against the citizens’ rights of privacy. This criminal case is primarily based on the revelations of Edward Snowden in his leaks.
The ILMR (International League of Human Rights) in conjunction with the CCC (Chaos Computer Lab) filed the suit on Monday against the government at the general Prosecutors Office.
In the suit, the action was brought against the German government and secrets service, the British government and its secret agents, the
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There are also accusations leveled against the officials of the government that they are not helpful and most of them are either unwilling or just ignored to conduct the investigations into the issue. Even after facing such challenges, both the ILHR and the CCC have continued to push for the release of more information to the public about the unlawful dealings between the German government with the NSA and GCHQ. According to them, accountability of the government should be paramount.
As this commotion is going on, the Office of the Prosecutor is still in the process of determining if the allegations are propounded enough to warrant the opening of a criminal investigations and prosecution. The spokesman to the German Chancellor, Steffen Seibert refused to give a clear comment on the issue when asked about the matter. The only statement he issued to the public is that all people in German are in a position to go to court and sue.
According to Julius Mittenzwei a CCC activist, there are very strong lawful grounds that must ensure that the spying of German citizens is put to a stop completely. The laws provide that all investigations which are to be done should be written in law. According to the activists, the spying has not been proved to help curb terrorism; hence it is a way of gaining power and control.
Democracy is
Some citizens question whether or not the government is legally allowed to do some of what they do regarding surveillance. Due to the PATRIOT Act, federal investigators can obtain a wide variety of information without formal court proceedings, which are normally required. "A congressional investigation revealed that the NSA had been illegally intercepting international communications for more than 20 years, but no action was taken against the NSA to penalize them or prevent this from happening again."(Cauley)
If the US does not change their viewpoint on spying on innocent citizens lives we might find ourselves in a situation similar to the society present in the novel 1984. Overall, the use of surveillance to control citizens is noticeably present in both 1984 and the present day society as in both cases these governments monitor citizens, turn on those who speak out, and use a paranoia as reasoning to
In 2013, a man named Edward Snowden ignited a national debate by revealing that our National Security Agency, or the NSA, has been gathering mass amounts of phone records and other, private, data without consulting the American public. That means American emails, chats, phone calls, online transactions, web searches, or even online medical records can and have be stolen by the government without consent. Using decryption methods, court orders, supercomputers, and technical tricks, the NSA is slowly gaining ground on its war on encryption. All of these things are supposed to be defended by technology companies and Internet Service Providers, but in the article, “Revealed: How US and UK Spy Agencies Defeat Internet Privacy and Security” by James
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as
In John Cassidy's article that depicted Snowden as an individual for his actions, spying domestically was an issue most citizens were shocked about. How can one agency see and watch all everywhere? Upon this declaration that was plastered along news threads and the media, Edward has been named a criminal under the law. His act of courage allowed millions to acknowledge the fact of not believing everything they hear. The National Security Agency's programs are now being questioned because of their dishonesty and lack of accurate information for the public. Because of Edward Snowden's undaunted exploit of private government files, tech agencies have furthered their search for better security so that their users can feel safe even in the midst of mass surveillance. Yet, despite several dangerous targets on his back, Snowden remains to believe in his action being done with pure intentions. Speaking bravely
First off, the topic of government surveillance has continued to be a controversy in it’s own regard, especially in the United States since the attacks of 9/11. Although citizens have remained uninformed of the true scope of domestic spying, some government employees have questioned just how far the NSA is truly reaching into the private lives of American citizens. For example, prior to Snowden’s leaks, U.S senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall had been stating vague warnings
Government surveillance entails the subjection of citizens to arbitrary monitoring by the government thereby impeding their privacy rights. It is a subject that has attracted a fair share of criticism in the American political scene due to issues regarding the citizen’s confidentiality and the willingness of Americans to cooperate with this activity for security purposes. Therefore, this paper explores the legal basis of the privacy rights by making reference to the chapter on Civil liberties. An analysis of the video link is made to determine the integrity of the Supreme Court’s ruling on privacy and the justification of whether Edward Snowden is a gallant whistle blower or a traitor.
Snowden who leaked the top-secret US government, U.S National Security Agency (NSA) and British media about the program trace its citizen. In June 14, 2013 federal prosecutors filed a US lawsuit was accused Snowden stealing government property, unauthorized communication of information defense, and knowingly disclose confidential intelligence to a person without authority. Therefore, according to Matthew M. Aid, an intelligence historian in Washington said that the revelations of Snowden has "confirmed suspicions all along that the track of the NSA in this country to penetrate beyond what we know”. Also, Matthew believes that what Snowden leaked is considered one of the most serious flaw in the history of the NSA. In fact, Snowden's unilateral decision to leak endangers the national security of 300 million other Americans. He did it without permission from Americans and the U.S Government. I just think that if national security that Snowden leaked fall into countries that’s fighting with American’s economic and also society and what damage it is for the U.S Government and also its citizen. Especially, in technology today’s world, how fast information can be leaked and others countries, such as China where Snowden escaped from the U.S after he leaked secret information, if China uses these information to damage the U.S Government and its citizen, what will happen? It can destroyed the U.S
On May 20th, 2013, one man singlehandedly committed one of the most controversial actions in the United States government’s history. He released over ten thousand classified documents regarding the CIA, NSA, and other branches of government intelligence. This man’s name is Edward Joseph Snowden and he built quite the resume for himself, not that he will need it now. Before leaking thousands of classified documents, Snowden used to be an employee for the CIA. It wasn’t until he got higher up in the rankings with the CIA when he starting seeing what some of these files contained. After being appalled by what he saw, Snowden took matters into his own hands and let the public see exactly what he was seeing. To understand more of what Snowden did, we have to go back before he decided to commit his crime.
Unless you were hiding beneath a rock in 2014, you saw the nation’s reaction to the release of classified NSA documents by the infamous whistleblower Edward Snowden. Snowden, who worked as the lead technologist for Dell, managed their accounts with the Central Intelligence Agency. It was in this position that Snowden began to notice some classified documents that didn’t make sense. These documents contained information on the National Security Agency illegally spying on their own citizens. It was at this time in 2012 that Snowden began downloading some of these files for himself. It is estimated that he downloaded somewhere between 50,000 and 200,000 files on the espionage efforts of the United States (Borrough, Ellison, Andrews, 2014). Now, Snowden needed to get the files out to the people. He attempted to contact a few media outlets around the world who would not go through the trouble to follow his strict encryption methods. Snowden eventually contacted documentarian Laura Poitras, who had recently written an article on a separate whistleblower that caught Snowden’s attention. Poitras states in an interview with Salon.com that, “…he’d contacted me because my border harassment meant that I’d been a person who had been selected. To be selected –and he went through a whole litany of things — means that everything you do, every friend you have, every purchase you make, every street you cross means you’re being watched” (Carmon, 2013). This connect lead to Snowden being
Nowadays, we living a age of information, everything happens faster than other times. Consequently the interception of information, in other words, the cases of espionage, become one of the biggest worries for the nations around the world. Recently, Edward Snowden, an ex-agent of NSA (National Security Agency) from USA, leaks a largest number of documents containing information about various countries. This leak sparked the warning signal of the countries (Shoichet, 2013).
Whoever in one of the circumstances indicated by article 444 of the penal code, denies, grossly minimizes, tries to justify or approves of the genocide committed by the German National-Socialist regime during the Second World War will be punished by imprisonment of eight days to one year and fine of twenty-six to five thousand
In the case of Edward Snowden a former National Security Agency (NSA) subcontractor, who was responsible for one of the most significant leaks in U.S history regarding NSA surveillance programs. During the years Snowden had worked for the NSA, he was exposed to invasive and disturbing practices that violate ones privacy. In this paper, I will argue that Edward Snowden was morally correct to blow the whistle on the NSA’s domestic surveillance practices.
“The responsibility for WW2 and the national sentiment of guilt shaped the role of the German politicians and citizens in Europe for decades”(Davis). Germany was put in extreme debt and poverty because of the fall of WW2, this led modern day Germany to feel the guilt for previous events. Many citizens of Europe at the time, felt the impact of the war for many years after. Since the end of WW2, Germany has performed many actions to make up for the destruction of Europe, both physically and emotionally. “Germany realized that in the event that it were to rejoin the international community, it would not run from its crimes but had to confront them” (Rienzi). Because of Germany's big impact on the rest of the world, it felt the need to make up for Hitler's previous behavior. To do this Germany had to make up for the purpose of what had happened in the past, instead of ignoring it. Germany has proven its change, in the fact that it is at this point of time, economically stable. “Germany...has grown to become the fourth largest economy in the world...at the end of WW2...70 years ago the country lay in ruins” (Rienzi). Germany's government has done a lot to prove itself guilt-free, by focusing on its economy and the citizens. “Germany has been trying to come to terms with anti-semitism and has made the denial of the Holocaust punishable by law”(Rienzi). Germany wants
Though many times Germans were demonized by exaggerated atrocities, Germany in fact is responsible for several cruel conducts on innocent civilians. In May this year, a German submarine sank the British ocean liner Lusitania resulting in the death of 1,200 civilians. This incident outraged the world and aggravated the punishment placed on German immigrants living in other countries. Last month, in October 1915, British nurse Edith Cavell was executed by German army for helping Allied soldiers escape German-occupied Belgium. In addition to the 200 Allied soldiers she helped, she also saved lives of Germans without discrimination. Her death rose shock, horror, and disgust in many civilized countries, where criticisms outpoured. German execution of Edith Cavell is now used as an effective propaganda in Canada, the United States, and around the world to encourage enlistment and revenge. I believe all German descendants have the same mixed feeling as I have hearing this news. The inhumane conducts make German descendants, especially those who live overseas, question and disapprove the German “kultur” (culture, which wartime propaganda refers German cruelty and barbarism). It is definitely hard for German immigrants to be blamed for their ethnicity and their former government back in their home. It makes us confused of our identity because of our disapproval of German government and the non acceptance of Canadian society. I just hope the War will come to an end soon and all the hastings and harmings on each other will