The United States Government Surveillance Policy

Edward Snowden’s disclosures about the National Intelligence Agency surveillance extension is some of the most comprehensive news in recent history. It has incited a ferocious debate over national security and information privacy. As the U.S government deliberates various reform proposals, arguments continue on whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor (Simcox, 2015).

Edward Snowden was a man who worked for the NSA and exposed all of the information that the NSA was accessing from U.S. citizens and those people around the world. Through his actions Snowden did break the law, “He has been charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence” (BBC News). Even though Snowden knew he would be charged for his actions, he still wanted to do the right thing and expose to the people what the NSA was doing. Snowden was looking at the information that was being collected and realized it was not necessary to keep Americans safe. Instead, collecting this information was abruptly digging into their lives and going against their rights as human beings. When this information was exposed, the citizens wanted the government and the NSA to ultimately change what exactly they were accessing and how they were accessing it. This event that Snowden

Edward Snowden was born on June 21, 1983 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He is known for sharing classified documents about the U.S. government and collecting data illegally from U.S. citizens. He did this by downloading the documents, encrypting them in emails, sending them back and forth to reporters and publishing them. The charges the government are charging him with is stealing government property, distribution of national defense information in which he was not authorized/allowed to do, and sharing the information with people whom weren’t supposed to know it. The reason he was even willing to be charged with these charges is because the government was collecting more information than they really needed such as our phone records,

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.

Former NSA agent, Edward Snowden, empowered U.S. citizens by releasing top secret governemnt files documenting the government’s unwarranted, illegal surveillance on ally countries and unknowing american citizens. His act of courage brought an era of awareness to the masses of the unconstitutional acts of the sovereign. Today, U.S. citizens can thank Snowden for confirming previously far-fetched conspiracy theories and for giving the people a chance to fight back against oppressive government tactics.

Everyone assumes that Edward Snowden first brought to the public’s attention the actions by the National Security Agency (NSA) in the mining of public data. (The Guardian and The Washington Post on June 5, 2013). “The release of classified material was called the most significant leak in US history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg”. (Gellman, B., Poitras, L. 2013). This was first reported by USA Today. ( Cauley, Leslie. 2006). There was no public comment at this time and it faded from memory. Recent events by the NSA have created public outrage about this invasion of privacy and expressed incredulity at how this

Over 230 years later, a frighteningly similar situation arose with Edward Snowden playing the role of renegade. A CIA cyber security expert since 2006, Snowden was hired as an NSA contractor in 2009. Over the next four years, he switched between assignments for the CIA and NSA, and in 2013, sought out a new position at the NSA which would grant him access to a wider array of classified documents. Snowden later admitted that he applied for this position with the intention to leak these documents. Later that year, Snowden released classified

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

Known as the symbolism for freedom, the United States of America has maintained its proclaimed title through democracy principles. On May 2013, these principles were put to the test. Edward Snowden, a former Intelligence community analyst fled to Hong Kong leaving his family and life behind to take a stand for democracy. He revealed documents on the National Security Agency (NSA) using mass surveillance programs that appeared to be working outside of the US Constitution. This act jeopardized his freedom and liberty as he was charged with the 1917 Espionage act. Known as a hero to many, yet, a lawbreaker to others, it does not take away the fact that he uncovered the United States to be at risk of becoming nationally oppressive. Mass surveillance

Another Important milestone in the new privacy paradigm was the revelation of the NSA’s surveillance program, PRISM. On June 5th, 2013, Edward Snowden leaked documents that revealed the National Security Agency’s surveillance program. The documents revealed that the NSA was tracking information from nine major Internet companies, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple. PRISM could collect about 600 million communications a day and store them for up to 30 days. Through the use of various methods, the NSA was able to intercept communications in real time (“Edward Snowden Leaks” 2014). With the implementation of PRISM, the United States government was able to covertly monitor information. The program was used to collect information from the Internet, but it was also used to obtain information from allies. One of the major issues with this program was the ability to monitor citizens without them ever becoming aware of the intrusion. PRISM was a drastic shift from the policies implemented in the eighties. Certain companies were cooperating with the NSA, many willingly handed over records. While these programs were implemented over a decade ago they have shaped the way the government views privacy. New policies are implemented which extend the government’s ability to gain access to information. This increase in power is problematic to the Internet user because it has restricted the rights of people. Internet privacy has been limited under the new paradigm in order

To wrap it all up Edward Snowden is a traitor. He has violated the trust the CIA, NSA, and his bosses had in him to keep this information a secret. This means he has put us citizens in danger. Some might think that his spreading of this information is heroic. However, now that this information has been released there is a greater possibility that it could fall into the wrong hands and families would be put in danger of terrorist attacks. Now he is on the run and the U.S. government must catch him before he and the information he leaked are captured by terrorists and America’s

Furthermore, Edward Snowden had done more than disclose the governments illegals acts, but also inform the world about programs and secret government agendas about how much freedom and privacy is being taken away in the name of security. Samuel Adams also once said, “The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought.” In this sense, Edward Snowden had valued freedom more so over anything against it, and had acted as he did fighting and defending his individual freedom. Edward Snowden had also fought for the truth, and not only exposed the government, but also to the American people what was happening to their rights and freedoms. The many stories and historical freedom fighters had even put their lives on the line for truth and liberty, and Edward Snowden had also done the same and succeeding in continuing the fight for freedom. Many who also who perceive Edward Snowden as a hero inspire them to do the same as he had, and exposing the government of their false truths and secrecy.

Snowden, the whistle-blower of the NSA that revealed thousands of NSA secrets, started life as a normal child and into his teen years he never stood out. Edward Snowden is known as s computer literate person of interest, yet when he was young and in high-school, he dropped out of school. Despite being a high-school dropout, at the age of 16 Snowden attended a community college. While in his teens and late twenties Snowden was very interested in the internet; it could be theorized that this interest in the internet would lead to what he would want to reveal. In his teens and early twenties, Snowden was often found online in chat rooms about computers and other things involving the internet. He was known for contributing on a site know as Ars Technica. As stated by Harding, Snowden first started on this site with the intention of setting up his own server.

On the 21st of June in 1983, Edward Joseph Snowden was born to Lonnie and Elizabeth Snowden. His father, Lonnie, was an officer in the US coastguard so he spent his early childhood in Elizabeth City, North Carolina until his family moved to Maryland. Snowden’s education began to wither during his mid-teens when he got ill and missed about four or five months of class. He did not graduate from high school, and at age 16, started taking classes at

Edward Snowden is a 34-year-old American computer professional. He joined the military in 2004 but he was injured falling off his bunk bed which resulted in a career-ending injury. Still wanting to serve and protect his country he then pursued a position with the CIA. He worked as a private contractor for the NSA and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He had worked in various jobs in the intelligence industry in the previous 9 years. He started as a system engineer, he went on as a solutions consultant and a senior advisor for the CIA. The level he is working at is Federal because the NSA and CIA have programs that can spy all around the world.