Danielle Figueroa

Mod 0 Snowden Paper

Freedom/Privacy/Tech (winter 2015)

Snowdens Info Leak

In 2013 Edward Snowden former system administrator for the CIA downloaded
over a million classified files from the NSA, and leaked these files over the course of a
few months to the public. These files contained top secret information about
government surveillance on American citizens, and other countries as well. While the
government was distraught about the situation the public had a much more positive
reaction. They would say his choice was ethical, but why? Why would leaking
government documents to the world be an ethical decision?
First of all surveillance of the American citizen is not new news. In 2006 former
AT&T technician Mark Klein confirmed that AT&T had been working with the NSA to
instal a fiber optic splitter that would copy emails and phone calls in the area. What the
world didnt know was that there was more than just one splitter, and that the
government was also collecting data from outside the US as well from places such as
Britain and France. All of these splitters became active immediately after the 9/11
terrorist attacks in hopes to prevent such events from happening again by collect
terrorist intel.

Clearly the American public and government have different ethical approaches to
the situation, and opinions can greatly affect the ethics of one or multiple people. When
taking a Utilitarian approach on Snowdens actions we may see why he may have felt it
was ethical to release such information. All I wanted was for the public to be able to
have a say in how they are governed, Snowden stated in an interview after the event
took place. He believed that his actions were for the greater good that informing the
public masses was worth the sacrifice that would be his exile, and the anger from
government officials, for he,would rather be without a state than without a voice.
Utilitarian is when a person tries to outweigh the bad with good which is what Snowden
was thinking before he leaked the files. While the government may have started with
reasonable intentions they began taking it to the extreme. People suddenly felt like their
privacy was being invaded, and this gave off a big brother is watching you essence.
This leads us into another type of ethics, the rights approach. Freedom of speech
is a right in this country, and so is privacy, so then why are we being revoked of it? If the
government is to be listening, reading, and watching our every move shouldnt we at
least be told? Snowden said when talking to The Wire, Even if you're not doing
anything wrong, you are being watched and recorded, the word privacy in America
needs a new definition then because this is clearly not it. The National Security Agency
monitored nearly 125 billion phone calls in just one month, and we dont know if that
including the phones calls from out of the country. Lets not forget that Snowden didnt
just alert america of NSAs scheme, but countries like Europe as well. As partners in
trade, war, and government Snowden felt it was Europes right to know that they too
were being watched by who should be their trusted friends. As it is President Obama

had to assure the Chancellor of Germany that, that the United States is not monitoring
and will not monitor the communications of Chancellor Merkel.
What if we were to change our view though? What if we looked at Snowdens
actions from the Presidents side? Both Snowden and the President have massive
knowledge of secret projects such as the surveillance splitter, yet they are viewing it
from two different perspectives thanks to different ethical views.
Utilitarian ethics would be different because our government officials believe by
performing this surveillance in the first place they are protecting the people of America
from terrorists threats. And by not telling citizens of these plans they keep this
surveillance plan safe from terrorists who may become more cautious knowing of
Americas intentions. The less you know can be better for the overall situation. For years
its been proven that spies are real (Snowden is living proof), and have traveled in
secrecy in order to gather intel for their countries sake. We do not know the amount of
spies from other countries that occupy America at once. We also do not know how
many other countries keep tabs on our country as well with their own surveillance
systems. So if they can keep it a secret from America under their own privacy laws then
we shall as well.
By keeping track of a select group of people the NSA and CIA limit their search
for danger to America. By monitoring as many people as possible from plenty of
different backgrounds they widen their search, and open new sources for their intel. This
is fair in the eyes of the government, and justice to those who were harmed in previous
terrorist attacks. Fairness and justice is another form of ethics that can be seen applied
to officials decision on why we must monitor everyone. Just this week the ABC News

reported that the FBI, arrested an Ohio man for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired
attack on the U.S. Capitol, who was voicing his opinions and plans on twitter. By
monitoring his account they could confirm his plans, and found in his possession guns
and bombs. If the NSA had limited their search to just foreign phone calls, or emails
from out of the country this man may have gotten away with his plans, and injure or kill
multiple people. This is what officials like the President believe is bringing justice to the
people.
The government is not invading privacy merely protecting the masses from
threats that can be stopped. Lives are saved, and criminals are put to trial for their
actions. Snowden has now not just informed American citizens, but the enemy as well,
and now they will be more cautious about how they communicate. There is no way to
reverse these actions, and the next attack could be on the towers themselves. Snowden
stole millions of files, and yet he has said he will only release the info he felt was
necessary for the public to know. The man who says our government is lying to us
wishes to be trusted with millions of top secret files while he flees to another country to
avoid penalty. He says, I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have
done nothing wrong, but is informing the public about the splitters really worth the lives
that may be lost because of it? According to Snowden it is.

Citations
"NSA Spying on Americans." Electronic Frontier Foundation. Web.
<https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying>.

Thomas, Pierre, Jake Date, Mike Levine, and Jack Clotherly. "Ohio Man Arrested for
Alleged ISIS-Inspired Plot on US Capitol, FBI Says." Abcnews.go.com. Abc
News, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ohio-man-arrested-allegedisis-inspired-attack-us/story?id=28227724>.

"The Most Wanted Man In The World." The Wire. The Wire, 22 Aug. 2014. Web.
<http://www.wired.com/2014/08/edward-snowden/>.

Edward Snowden. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from

BrainyQuote.com Web site:
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/edwardsnow551861.html>